PARENT AND CHILD. This relation arises only from a legal marriage. The relation between parents and their illegitimate children is considered in the article BASTARD.
Parents are bound to maiutain their legitimate children who are unable to maintain themselves owing to infancy or inability to work. This obligation extends to father and mother, grandfather and grand mother, if they are able to perform it (43 Eliz., c. 2; 5 Geo. 1.. c. 8). But such persons are only bound to furnish the children with the necessaries of life ; and the penalty incurred in case of refusal is only 20s. per month. A husband is also, by 4 & 5 Will. IV., c. 76, liable to maintain the children of his wife, born before marriage, whether they are legitimate or not, until they are of the arse of sixteen, or until the death of his wife. If a parent deserts his children, the churchwardens and overseers may seize his goods and chattels, and receive his rents, to the amount mentioned in the justices' warrant, which must he obtained before such seizure is made.
Formerly, if a Popish parent refused to allow his Protestant child a suitable maintenance, with the view of compelling him to come over to the Roman Catholic religion, the lord chancellor might enforce from the parent a proper allowance (11 & 12 Will. III., c. 4) ; and so if Jewish parents refused to allow their Protestant children a maintenance suit able to the parent's fortune and the age and education of the children, the lord chancellor might make such order as he thought proper (1 Anne, et. i. c. 80). Both statutes were repealed by 9 & 10 Vict., C. 59.
Parents are not bound to make any provision for their children after their death. Every man, and every woman who is capable of disposing of her property by will, may dispose of it as they please ; except a' freeman of London, who is under some limitations as to the power of disposing of his personalty by will, which limitations are in favour of his wife and children. A parent or child may aid each other in a law suit, without being guilty of maintenance. [MAINTENANCE.] Parents are not legally bound to give any education to their children, nor are they under any restrictions as to the kind of education they may give. Certain penalties might formerly be imposed (1 Jac. I.,
c. 4; 3 Jac. I., c. 5) on a person who sent a child under his government beyond seas, either to prevent his good education in England or for the purpose of placing him in a Popish college, or being instructed in the Popish religion. The statute 3 Car. I., c. 2, extended these penalties, and added certain disabilities. It seems that it was intended to repeal these penal and disabling statutes by the 31 Geo. III., c. 32, in favour of any Roman Catholic who took the oath therein prescribed. They are now repealed by 2 & 3 Will. IV. c. 115.
The power of a parent over his childen continues until the age of twenty-one, when they are emancipated ; and if a parent die leaving a' child under age, he may appoint a guardian to such child till the age of twenty-one. A mother has no power over her children.
A child under age may acquire property by gift; and if a father is the trustee of his child's estate, he must account to the child when he comes of age, like any other trustee. So long as a child who is under age lives with and is supported by the father, the father is entitled to receive the reward of the labour. When a child has a fortune of his own, and the father is not able to maintain him suitably to such fortune, a court of equity will allow the father a competent sum for maintenance out of the child's estate; but a father is not entitled to any such allowance in respect of costs incurred by him for his child's maintenance before be obtains such order of court for maintenance.
A parent may maintain an action for the seduction of a daughter on the ground of loss of her services, if there is evidence of her acting in the capacity of servant, or living with the parent in such a manner that the parent had a right to her services. This action has been main tained by a father in the case of his daughter, a married woman above age, living separate from her husband, and with the father ; and by an aunt for the seduction of her niece living with her, to whom she.stood in the relation of parent. The foundation of the right to maintain such an action is the loss of the services to which the parent entitled.