Doing Right by Children: Reflections on the Nature of Childhood and the Obligations of Parenthood by William B. Irvine

Doing Right by Children begins with an examination of the concept of childhood and how this concept has changed over the centuries. Once treated as a form of property were created out of a family's need for labor, by 1950, American parents had come to think of themselves as stewards looking out for the best interests of their children. In the 1960s, though, the status of children began to decline, as parents grew increasingly reluctant to put the interests of their children ahead of their own desires.