Our modern conception of the family has made an important contribution to the development of childhood. Parents pass on their knowledge to their loved ones in hopes of raising successful adults. John Locke makes these observations in his “Second Treatise on Government”. However, in classical Greece, Plato abolished our concept of family in his book “Republic”. The main difference between these two theologians' views on the family lies in the relationship between the family and government. In one, parents are the primary authorities over their children until they reach the age of reason, and the law then becomes the authority over all adults. In the other, the government alone exercises influence over the child. Although Locke and Plate explore the idea of ​​family differently, both share the same goal of creating a just and working society. In Locke's "Second Treatise on Government," Locke states his belief that "all men are equal by nature (287)." " However, he says that children "are not born into a state of equality although they are born into it (289)." When children are born, their parents exercise a certain authority over them. The authority is temporary until the child reaches the age of reason. Locke explains using the biblical reference of Adam. He says that Adam was created perfectly with both force and reason, but that his children were born naturally in a state of ignorance and without reason, making them strangers to the law of reason. Locke states that man is not born free because he is not born with the knowledge of the law. Man is free only when he is familiar with the law of reason because, as Locke says, "the aim of law is not to abolish or restrict, but to preserve and enlarge the freedom (289).” It is therefore the responsibility of parents to care for and teach their children during their childhood amidst the papers of John Locke and Plato. Locke emphasized the importance that parents have on the development of their children. When a child is born, a temporary government is created where parents have authority over their children until the child reaches the age of reason. This perspective allows family and government to work together to produce a just society. In Plato's "Republic," children are taken from their mothers at birth and raised by the government, making the entire society their family. Plato explains that the family and the city cannot be separate entities that work together for the betterment of society, but must be the same. Works Cited Plato. Republic. Trans. Alan Bloom. New York: Basic Books, 1968. John Locke, “The Second Treatise of Government” in Political Writings, ed. David Wooten. (Indianapolis, Hackett Publishing Company, 2003)