Introduction. The article analyzes the pedagogical ideas that appeared in Russia in the second half of the XVIII century, which led to the creation of different ideas about the essence of raising children in the family. The scientific problem of the study proceeds from the need to determine the features of parental education in the pedagogical heritage of the Russian Enlightenment. The purpose of the study is to study the essence of parental education in the works of representatives of different pedagogical directions of the specified period. Theoretical analysis. Comparative analysis of the original works of such little-studied authors of the XVIII century as V. T. Zolotnitsky, E. B. Syreyshchikov, M. M. Snegirev, A. T. Bolotov, A. P. Sumarokov, and G. N. Teplov, allows us to conclude that during this historical period, eff orts were made by representatives of the Russian intelligentsia to understand the meaning of parental education, and to identify the main methods of parents' influence on the emerging personality of the child. Conclusion. The paper identified common features of the positions of the authors studied, as well as contradictions that allowed us to distinguish two pedagogical directions in understanding the essence of raising children in the family. This made it possible to conclude that the main point of their confrontation was the idea of the need to create a nationwide system of education based on moral values or create an elite system of education only for noble children.