Parental describes things that belong to the job of being a mother or father — especially the responsible side: keeping a child safe, teaching them, deciding for them. Parental leave is time off work after a baby comes. Parental permission is a school’s way of saying mum or dad must agree. Parental control on a phone is a lock that a parent sets. Though actually, people also stretch it: a “parental tone” may just mean someone is talking to you as if you were still a child, even when they are not your parent. In almost all everyday use it is an adjective sitting in front of another noun. At home people rarely say parental; they say “mum and dad’s” or “as a parent.” You will see it more on forms and in the news.