Getting Values from one publish item on another

Hello,
I’m trying to have a check box on the parent item of a publish populate down the tree but I am unsure on how to get the information in publish script for the children. essentially I have a farm override for the parent item and I want it so if the box on the parent item is checked it only writes the info out on the children. is there a way on the child object to find if this box has been checked for the parent?