Take, for example, a recent conversation I had with a mother of two children. It reminded me of my youth, when I came home to tell my parents that I wanted to become a sportscaster. While my parents weren't negative in their response, they weren't encouraging either. It was one of my father's friends who gave me psychological permission to achieve that goal.
Parents can be a negative influence on their children about their goals and dreams.
One reason is that parents become protective and don't want to see their child fail. Some parents are jealous of their children's lofty goals, because they did not achieve theirs. I look at the parent's of some of my friends when I was growing up. Those who had encouraging parents seemed to reach their dream jobs most of the time, or at least became successful in whatever field they chose. The discouraging parents seemed to sabotage their children's success.