The evolution of human consciousness has brought a new view to the relationship between parent and child. For thousands of years, children were seen as beholding to their parents (especially fathers) for being brought into human life. Children were seen as and treated as free labor and pawns of their parents to carry on their blood line, surname, and so forth. Many societies condoned infanticide and other forms of murder/brutality by parents upon their offspring.
The new consciousness, which has been fostered by the secular segments of society, against angry protest from the religiously deluded, is based on the concept that parents are responsible for their children's wellbeing and development into independent, evolving adults. More educated parents take this responsibility more seriously. They strive to provide their children with a life which will surpass their own in positive growth and experience.
Practice for those raised in the old model, the model of child as slave, entails in part declaring a birthright to respect and independence. This practice is difficult, especially if one's parents live into old age.
Claiming one's birthright to own one's own life and to be responsible for it is a major and necessary step to personal evolution.
