Self-actualized One parents are ideal in a multitude of ways — they are committed to each other, to the marriage, to the children, and to their values. They treat their children with respect and have reasonable expectations for them. They are able to help their children form original ideas yet feel comfortable within their community. Ego-driven One parents, on the other hand, can be perfectionists who have very high expectations and impose them on their children. They may control the child's every move, giving them the impression they can't do anything right on their own or, worse yet, that there is something inherently wrong with them. Pathological One parents can be exceedingly rigid, controlling, and hypercritical. They may have a belief system that they force upon the children, and they may punish the children if they breach any of the rules, even if the rules don't make any real sense. They may use guilt as a way to keep their children in line.