From this explanation, it can be inferred that the first task of a mother in her early child’s life is to make a unity with him. After having the unity with the child, then
the next task of a woman will be educating the child. This matter will be explained in the following paragraph.
The mother’s next task is educating. Beside her attention to bodily care, she is now concerned with the child’s psychology and his adjustment to reality.
Above all, the mother must now teach her children to control his instincts, and the better her own instinctual life is controlled, the better does she succeed in this
task. She must not be too mild in her methods of training, for excessive indulgence involves the danger of the child’s remaining undisciplined and
dominated by his instincts. She also is not allowed to forbid a lot, for excessive inhibition exposes the child to the danger of neurotic illness Deutsch 309. From
the previous explanation, it can be concluded that the second task is the important one. The reason is that the mother must educate her child well. If the mother is too
mild, then her child will remain undisciplined and dominated by the instincts. If the mother forbids too much, then the child will have a danger of experiencing a
neurotic illness. Therefore, the mother must take a right step in taking care of her child.
Noller 135 states that there are three styles of parenting. They are authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive styles. Further, Greenbaum Landau
state that mother-child interactions tend to be dominated by caretaking. Mothers communicate with their children, stimulate them, express positive affection to
them, and perform the basic childcare tasks more than do fathers 205.
2.1.5 Family Influences on a Growing Child
This theory is proposed by Medinus and Johnson and divided into several sub-topics namely: the nature of parent-child relations, three principal parent
variables, and three factors in parent child relationships. Each of the sub-topics will be explained briefly.
2.1.5.1 The Nature of Parent-Child Relations
Although all human relationships are unique, those existing between parents and child posses certain characteristics that explain the tremendous and
permanent impact of one upon the other. The intimacy and intensity of contact and the everyday interaction an interchange exist in an emotionally charged
atmosphere. A child serves as a mirror to the parent, who sees reflected there his own childhood, his own unresolved and frequently long-term conflicts, and his
own needs and aspirations Medinnus and Johnson 343. The emotional needs of one to another create a system where the
breakdown of one member will affect the entire system. Some clinical reports reveal that the family member who seeks for psychological treatment actually is
not the one who needs it. This statement indicates that the psychological disorder of the concerned individual reflects a greater trouble within the family system.
Furthermore, family-therapy case studies show that when one family member is relieved from the psychological symptoms, the symptoms frequently reappear in
another member Medinnus and Johnson 343. There is also another view of the value of children for their parents.
According to Nye 153, children are considered to fulfill needs of their parents. One of the values of children for their parents is being a marital status. In this
case, they may enhance parents’ status because parenthood is thought to establish parents as truly mature, stable, and acceptable members of adult community.
Parents who have children will be considered as having higher social status in their community because being parents is regarded as prestigious and needs great
responsibility.
2.1.5.2 Three Principal Parent Variables
Medinnus and Johnson 347 state that there are three principal parent variables, which are parent is personality, attitudes, and behavior. The first
variable is parent’s personality that influences personality development of their child. It is because parents unconsciously teach character’s trait, values, and
attitudes to their children. The result of the influence can be good or bad to the children, depending on how they receive it.
The second variable concerns parent’s attitudes. How the adult understanding of the parental role in relation to the child influences his attitudes as
a parent. The conception of these responsibilities, functions, and obligations of a role create the individual’s attitudes. Further, the interest of the child psychologist
in parental attitude stems, therefore, from the notion that a basic, underlying attitude influences many behaviors of parenthood that are assumed to affect the
personality development of the child. Medinnus and Johnson 349. The third variable is parent’s behavior. At this point, there are many
aspects to learn in exploring the characteristics that describe the general behavioral atmosphere of the home. Two characteristics which usually emerge are
acceptance versus rejection and autonomy versus control. Theoretically, the psychological atmosphere of a home may fall into any of the four quadrants, each
