It is evident that most parents want what is best for their children, but that does not necessarily mean that intent attains results. Research in the Journal of Child and Family Studies concludes that “being a good parent was of [utmost] importance to them” and that the belief that parents “had always done what was ‘right’ and ‘best’ for the child and the family, irrespective of others’ opinions,” is commonplace in households, even though this is often not true in actuality (Eaton 25). This confirms that parents think they have good child-rearing abilities because they are acting in the best interest of their children and have good intentions, even though these practices clearly don’t translate into real life success, especially for lower class families. As parents perceive that they are acting in the best interest of their children, they often use confirmation bias to reinforce their beliefs that they are raising their children in the best way they can. “Good intentions can all too easily lead to bad outcomes” and “relying on good intentions alone to inform decisions is potentially disastrous” because of this (MacAskill 5). Intent alone can do no greater good for the success of children and for society as a whole, rather the consequences of parenting determine a child’s ability to succeed. It is not enough for parents to think about how to ensure their children’s development and to determine how to do this by themselves because parents often do not know the best mechanisms for the greatest success of their children, despite them thinking they do. The justification for this is largely consequentialist. What is most important is the outcome of what “good” parenting provides because it creates the most benefit.

Child success is based on the empirical premise that uniform conditions for the raising of children will promote equal available capacity for achievement, even though this may not necessarily translate into the competency of children to act on their given circumstances given their natural abilities. Even so, “children have never been easy to manage, define, or systematize; and parents themselves have rarely been able to conform to the ideals described in child­care manuals” (Grant 1998). As parenting has become a more specialized occupation, it has also become dependent on information from expert sources. But parents need more than just information. Because parents don’t always know what is best for their children “they need someone to teach them how to parent. That is difficult for families who don’t have the means to do so” (Grant 98). Connecting universalist and consequentialist premises requires that parents must be aided in child rearing so that those in need of parental assistance have the resources necessary to get the best results. Furthermore, the inherentist concept that the action of raising children is good is invalid because it does not necessarily better society or even the children themselves.