The paper provides the theoretical and methodological analysis of the traditions which determine the modern principals of research into parental labor. The author notes that the term ‘parental labor’ is popular in contemporary studies, but it remains untraditional for some scientists. To check whether this peculiarity covers the term under review or the idea behind it, the researcher analyzes classical and modern scientific literature from the theoretical and methodological perspective. The analysis shows that although the concept of parental labor has recently become widespread, it has long-standing backgrounds. Classical social and philosophical works laid the foundations for a review of parents’ activities as a type of labor. Further social theories identified specific patterns in the development of parental labor in the new social environment. Summarizing the results of the analysis, the author concluded that the term ‘parental labor’ was not explicitly mentioned in social and economic studies. At the same time, the idea of examining parental practices through the prism of the category of labor is not radically new and continues previous traditions.