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helplessness and uncertainty. The child's level of development does not in this
situation coincide with his attainable leveL Guidance towards the actualisation of his
psychic life within the educational situation is then inadequate. A dysfunction in the
dynamics of upbringing is therefore clearly brought about by both the child's
inadequately actualising his psychic life, and the educators inadequately supporting
him. The child is consequently impeded in his progress towards adulthood (Van
Niekerk 1987 :9-10).
Pretorius (1979 :56-58) sees the secure environment of the family milieu as providing
the child with the following vital aspects which are essential in the child's efforts of
becoming:
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the family milieu provides the child with a safe place from which he can
explore his life-world;
the family milieu supplies the child with answers to problems he may
encounter during his explorations;
the family milieu is a world where love is personally directed towards the
child;
the family milieu is the primary socialising agent where the child learns
socially accepted behaviour;
the family milieu is dynamic in that it adjusts according to, and
accommodates changes and new influences from outside the family milieu;
the family milieu is one of lasting personal relationships which enable the
child to discover personal norms and values.
The problem that faces the abused child is that his life-world is deprived of this vital
component for his successful emancipation, i.e. he must constitute a life-world in the
absence of the supportive family milieu.