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Your Children Matter
Parental Responsibilities - What are they?
- Parental Responsibilities - What are they?
First of all, parental responsibilities are what children have the right to expect from their parents; what parents must do for their children.
Parental Responsibilities
The law sets out what they are and expects you to carry them out unless something makes that impossible, or if it's not in your child's best interest for you to do so.
The law doesn't tell you how to carry them out - that's your decision. But remember, you should always do what's best for your child, taking account of what he/she needs to be safe and to grow and develop.
The law does say one thing about 'how', though - you should ask your children what they think about major decisions.
- So what does this mean?
- What must you as a parent do?
This is how the law says it:
Children (Scotland) Act 1995 |
| A parent has, in relation to his/her child, the responsibility to safeguard and promote the child's health, development and welfare. |
After a child is 16, a parent can't tell him/her what to do. After that, you still need to make sure that your children have the information and advice they need to make the best decisions for themselves until they are 18.
The law says it this way:
Children (Scotland) Act 1995 |
| A parent has, in relation to his/her child, the responsibility to provide, in a manner appropriate to the stage of development of the child, direction and guidance to the child. |
The law says it this way:
Children (Scotland) Act 1995 |
| A parent has, in relation to his/her child, the responsibility if the child is not living with the parent, to maintain personal relations and direct contact with the child on a regular basis. |
If your child has money or property of his/her own, you should look after it for them. Before you do anything with your child's money or property it's always a good idea to get some legal advice. There are some situations where you'll need the permission of a court official, the Accountant of Court, so it's as well to be sure about what you're doing in advance.
The law says it this way:
Children (Scotland) Act 1995 |
| A parent has, in relation to his/her child, the responsibility to act as the child's legal representative. |
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