In this chapter I consider what kinds of things parents are morally permitted to do and, in particular, I show why the perfectionist theory defended in Part III provides a plausible view of parental morality as well as the role of the state in upbringing. I do this by considering three possible views concerning the extent to which parents have a right to shape their child's values. While parents’ ability to do this has been overstated, it is undeniable that parental actions have significant implications for their child's future personality, beliefs and values. For many parents, sharing values with the child is one aspect of what makes parenting a valuable project. However, liberal theorists have raised worries about parents using their power over children to shape their beliefs. The three views are:

• 1. Liberal parenting: Parents are permitted to engage in value shaping provided their children are autonomous by the time they reach adulthood. They may shape values according to any views of the good that do not lead the child to harm others.

• 2. Neutral parenting: Parents are not permitted to engage in value shaping or to make decisions that affect their child based on their own comprehensive beliefs.

• 3. Perfectionist parenting: Parents are permitted – and required – to engage in value shaping to promote their children's well-being. This includes, but is not limited to, a duty to raise children who are able to act autonomously.

I begin by revealing the problems with both liberal and neutral parenting and showing how perfectionist parenting resolves the problems with these perspectives. I then explore what perfectionism requires of parents and how it operates when understood as a moral guide to family life.

Liberal parenting

Liberal parenting is the dominant view in the contemporary philosophical literature. Joel Feinberg's ‘The child's right to an open future’ (2007) argues that while liberal rights cannot apply in the normal way to children, children have a right to have their future freedom protected. They thus have a moral right to the prerequisites of personal autonomy. This right operates against the state, giving children a right to an adequate education, and against parents, giving children a claim against value shaping that threatens their autonomy.