Parental Responsibility and Authority

Locke addresses parents directly, holding them accountable for their children's upbringing and warning against 'cockering and tenderness.' He advises a firm but rational approach, avoiding harshness while preventing indulgence.

Locke emphasizes that the well-educating of children is the duty and concern of parents, and that errors in education carry incorrigible taint through life.

Locke emphasizes the need for parents to establish early and steady authority over their children's wills, using a balance of firmness and indulgence.

The endnote underscores the historical view that education was a parental duty, as seen in Roman and Greek sources.