TCS posits that children should be brought up entirely without coercion, and that they have the same rights as adults. Children of TCS parents choose whether or not to go to school. Often they homeschool or unschool.
Lawrence says that much of her philosophy is inspired by the epistemology of Karl Popper, and that TCS provides a link between Popper's epistemology and the psychology of human learning. However, Popper himself never made this connection between his epistemology and its implications for educational theory and parenting.