Law & Parents is written by highly trained family law experts to give you all the information you need to know about parenting and the law. You will find that throughout your child’s life, the law impacts on your rights, responsibilities or role as a parent or guardian. In fact, from before your child is born, until the moment they reach the age of 18, the laws surrounding your children and parenting can be complex and confusing.

This site aims to assist you in finding the right legal information to all of your parental issues. We hope that you find the help you are looking for, and have set out below an overview of the many stages of parenting and law, with useful links to assist you.

Parenting and the Law

As somebody who has an interest in the health and wellbeing of a child, you may have parental responsibility. Of course, if you are the mother, you will automatically have parental responsibility, but the conditions for fathers gaining parental responsibility is not so clear cut, particularly for those who are unmarried. Some rights extend to other family members, guardians and carers. These rights will depend on your status in relation to the child and the other parents. If you are separated from your partner and are battling for custody of your child, applying to the courts for contact orders or residence orders, or trying to adopt a child etc., you will need to carefully consider your legal standpoint.

Child Protection

Of course, as with any parent, your main priority is to keep your child out of harm’s way. Child protection involves a wide range of issues, all of which are concerned with keeping children safe. There is the first group of protection issues, which address the safety of a child during a family break up, for example, in custodial proceedings. This includes matters such as supervision and custodianship, as well as child abandonment. During any separation, it is also important to think about your child’s emotional and psychological needs, in addition to the physical ones.

Away from court, you may need to know about the law surrounding bullying, cruelty and even how to keep your child safe when surfing the internet. Understanding child protection can be a very important issue for any parent, whether you want to prevent your child from being hurt, or find out your legal position when you feel something is wrong.

Your Child’s Behaviour

As a parent, you will always be concerned about how your child behaves. All parents hope that their child never has to find themselves embroiled with the law, but you must be prepared for any situations that may arise. While some teens can sometimes end up dangerously close to the edge of the law, others might just have raucous house parties, but all of these have legal perspectives.

You may wonder about your liability, should your child behave illegally. Of course, this would depend on the nature of the behaviour, as your child could be solely responsible for certain criminal conduct, ranging from public nuisance offences to ASBOs. In some cases, parental or behavioural contracts impact on your parental responsibilities, and you might need to work with the youth offending team.

Your Child's Education

Your child’s education will shape their future, and you will want to be involved to ensure they get the best from it. Whether you want to send your child to state school, private school or you choose to home school, there are legal implications. If you are a separated parent, you will want a role in choosing your child’s education, and you will need to know about how to apply to a school. This can be stressful and difficult, so understanding your legal position can be comforting.

If your child attends a state school, they will be subject to the truancy laws, school discipline and sanction procedures, so understanding them is important. When you leave your child in a school’s care, the teachers are said to have loco parentis, which means that they become responsible for your child, so you should be fully aware of the legal significance.

Children's Rights

In an ever-changing and increasingly complex parental world, the rights of children are becoming more prominent. If your child is put in care, there are a number of legal issues surrounding your contact with them, which may involve a parental responsibility agreement. The NSPCC is a prominent charity, working for children and promoting their rights. As your child gets older, they may wish to take employment, and your child’s right to work is related to child employment law.

Money and Children

Raising a child is expensive, and money will always factor in your child’s upbringing. Child benefit and tax credits can help a lot when you are trying to bring up your child and provide for them. Of course, as they grow up, they need more money, and the law impacts on this. Free school meals and childcare are two expenses concerned with younger children. A particular contentious issue is that of child support payments, which will effect the money and care you can provide for your child.

As your child grows up and goes to university, you will need to know about tuition fees and student loans. You may also need to know about debt and your legal responsibilities and obligations with regards to paying your child's debt. You may also require information about guaranteeing mortgages for your children, which is becoming increasingly prevalent.

Your Rights as a Parent

Being a parent is a privilege, but your rights as one are complicated. As you may experience any number of problems as a parent, understanding your rights is crucial. Having a child through surrogacy, adoption or through a relationship leads to differing legal issues. You may be trying to change your child’s surname after gaining custody or adoption, all of which are regulated by the law. If you are thinking about taking your child abroad, you will need to consider the law, so as not to fall into illegal territory such as abduction.

As well as the rights surrounding the child, you also have your own life to consider. You may experience problems as a parent with a job, including dismissal because of pregnancy, issues with paternity and maternity leave, or flexible working conditions. The rights and laws can be different for foster parents or guardians and this is explained on this site.

Caring for your Child Within the Law

Parents almost always know what is best for their child, but it is important that you set your rules and standards within the law. When you can leave a child home alone, curfews and smacking have all seen a lot of recent coverage on the news, and you must understand your position as a parent. It is also becoming increasingly important to know about the law surrounding your child and alcohol, cigarettes, gambling and drugs, as young people are exposed to them from an earlier age. Being a parent is a juggling act between what you think is right for your child and what you the law says is right for them.

Finally...

Every parent will experience some of the issues you have read about, from the soon-to-be parents to those who have several children. Being a parent is a loving and happy experience, and making sure you do everything for them will be vastly important to you, even before they are born. Whatever legal questions you have, we hope Law & Parents will provide you with those answers, so that you are well informed and can have a wonderful time being a parent.