jQuery Parent Method – .parent() complete usage guide with codes

The jQuery Parent method (.parent()) returns the direct parent of the selected element.

Syntax of jQuery Parent Method

$(selector).parent(filter)

filter is an optional parameter. When used, it narrows down the direct parent search.

Example 1: jQuery Parent

<div id="div1">
    <p>
        <span class="spanCss">Span</span>
    </p>
    <p>
        <span class="spanCss">Span</span>
    </p>
</div>

<button id="button1">Click</button>

$("#button1").click(function () {
    $(".spanCss").parent().css({ "color": "red", "border": "2px solid red" });
});

The above button click will add a red border around the 2 p elements because they are the direct parents of the elements (2 span elements).

Example 2: jQuery Parent with filter parameter

In this jQuery Parent example I will use the filter parameter. See the below code:

<div id="div2">
    <p class="first">
        <span class="mySpan">Span of parent with class 'first'</span>
    </p>
    <p class="second">
        <span class="mySpan">Span of parent with class 'second'</span>
    </p>
</div>

<button id="button2">Click</button>
$("#button2").click(function () {
    $(".mySpan").parent(".first").css({ "color": "red", "border": "2px solid red" });
});

Here I have added – .first as the filter parameter and this will just add the red border around the first p element as it is having the .first CSS class.

DEMO DOWNLOAD