More than 100,000 youngsters have no parent in work, Tory children's spokeswoman Liz Smith said ahead of a Holyrood debate on supporting families.
She added that 200,000 children in Scotland are living in poverty and as many as 100,000 are living with parents addicted to alcohol.
Ms Smith said: "It is not rocket science to recognise the extent of the problems we are facing."
The majority of parents provide "caring and effective" support for their children, according to Ms Smith.
But she added: "We must also acknowledge the growing minority of parents out there who genuinely find it difficult to pass on parenting skills to their children because they themselves are the children of parents who do not possess these skills.
"That is why it is so important that we make more effort to support those who work in the voluntary sector and improve the uptake of Gift Aid from its very low take-up rate of 34%.
"We must enshrine the principle that charitable giving should be made out of untaxed income."
Children's Minister Adam Ingram has called on parents to ensure that children who are now entitled to free school meals take up their entitlement, after changes introduced in August this year.
Parents in receipt of both the maximum child tax credit and maximum working tax credit became entitled to free school meals, benefiting an additional 44,000 young people.
Mr Ingram said: "We want to ensure that all parents and pupils who can now benefit from these changes are making the most of them so that these pupils can get access to a free, nutritious and well-balanced lunch."
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