What are the goals of parenting? Some parents plan and make active decisions about when and how to have children, while another large percentage of the population does not. What values or guidelines should we be using to raise children? Virtually every parent wants the best for their children, but also wants their children to have the same values and beliefs as them. At what point should parents have to question their own morals for the betterment of their children? Should we allow or promote things like indoctrination? Who is to judge if parents are doing things in accordance with these goals of parenting? What resources should parents be provided and when should the government be allowed, if ever, to intervene with the act of parenting?
Should we be trying to make children self sufficient, inquisitive, good citizens, kind, or highly intelligent? Should the goals of parenting reflect the type of society or country we are in? For example, should one of the goals of parenting be to encourage children to follow their dreams, or to work hard and be a doctor because that will be the best choice for society? Who should get to decide the goals of parenting, and will they be flexible enough to encompass a large variety of beliefs and backgrounds without being western ideals, or christian ideals etc? Some cultures value different aspects of being human than others, and have widely different parenting methods as a results. What as humanists, keeping these things in mind, should be our goals of parenting?