Parent and Child
Parent and Child, in law. The rights and duties in the family relationship are defined by law. The parents are the legal guardians of the minor child and have the right to the child's custody and the duty to support him or her. Nearly all the states have compulsory school attendance laws requiring parents to send their children to school. Parents must correct and discipline the child when necessary, but if they are guilty of abuse or cruelty they are subject to legal penalties. They are entitled to the services and earnings of a minor child and are responsible for the child's debt, if the debts were contracted for necessities.
If the parents are divorced, the court gives custody of the child to one of the parents or, in some cases, provides for joint custody. Custody is usually given to the mother with the father being required to provide support.
However, courts are increasingly giving custody to the father when it is felt that he will be able to provide the child with better care than the mother. (Formerly, the father rarely gained custody unless the mother did not want the child or was adjudged morally unfit.)
The mother is almost always the legal guardian of an illegitimate child but the father may be compelled to contribute support. If parents are guilty of neglect or abuse, the state may appoint someone else as guardian or place the child in an institution that acts as the legal guardian. The guardian is said to be in loco parentis (in place of the parent).