The Mom Effect?

I have been reading through Kings and Chronicles in my daily Bible study.  While sometimes it is easy to get lost in all of the names and events, I was struck with how quickly things went from good to bad or bad to good.  I commented that it seemed like it would be discouraging to parents to read the accounts.  A good king would be followed by an evil heir.  Why?  Hubby jumped on the negligence of the father.  Yes, they were probably very busy, had too many wives, had too many children ... they definitely had their part in the problem.  I also noticed that often the kings were linked to their mothers (and his mother was ____).  Perhaps it was just a means of identification, but I can't help but wonder if it is also a reminder of the effect that a mother has on her children for good or for evil.