Parents’ roles, when neglected, jeopardize their children’s lives. However, children’s attitudes are most of the time criticized by putting the parental role in the margin. One consequence of this situation is artistically portrayed in one of the most controversial, yet classic, works in American literary history: J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Informed by psychoanalytic literary critical theory, this essay argues that parents should revisit their responsibilities toward their children.

Keywords: Parents, children, education, (ir)responsibility