ABSTRACT
What counts as good parenting? This chapter explores recent treatments of this question in moral and political philosophy along three main dimensions. First, it considers a series of questions about the traits of good parents. Are genetic ties between parents and children relevant to good parenting? Does sexual orientation affect the capacity to parent well? How many parents should children have? Second, it considers issues about the nature of distinctive parental duties. Is there a parental duty to love children? What duties do parents have to facilitate and respect the autonomy of children? What limits are there on paternalism? Finally, it considers how good parents must be in order to have a right to parent.
