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Cemane (1990 : 9-11) identifies the following types of family disorganisation as
contributing to the neglected child phenomenon in the RSA :
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Sham families.
Families subjected to stress.
Families overtaken by misfortunes.
Families in the throes of a family tragedy.
(a) Importance of these relations
Its importance rests on the presence or absence of love as its dominant feature.
Mutual love is not an isolated phenomenon but something that eases the relationship.
The effect of a stable love base is far reaching. The child who can rely on parental
love feels freer to take risks, to explore, find himself, try out his abilities, develop
decision-making powers and openly compare alternatives - particularly as regards the
choice of a career. He feels free to make the inevitable mistakes without fearing that
these will mean total rejection by his parents. Nor does he have the destructive guilt
feelings suffered by children who are not really loved by their parents. Clear
educational support from parents, in enforcing reasonable standards ofbehaviour, help
the child's emancipation by promoting a positive self-concept (Maree 1990 ;
Coopersmith 1967).
As a person in the process of becoming or developing, the child is subject to constant
change (Van Niekerk 1987: 4). He himself has an active part in bringing about this
change by aetnalising his psychic life within an educational setting. The child therefore
at any given moment finds himself to be at a specific level of development, which can
be qualified as being the pedagogically attained leveL The immediate objective is
always to have this level coincide with the child's pedagogically attainable level. This
means that the child should be supported in such a way that he will give proof within