This is a problem resulting from trying to keep my html semantics as correct as possible.
I have a parent button that does both a function in the same page, and acts
You can not do this. A button is not meant to contain other elements. However, you can style a div element to have the look and the feel of a button, here is what it looks like with bootstrap:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title></title>
<!-- Latest compiled and minified CSS -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-BVYiiSIFeK1dGmJRAkycuHAHRg32OmUcww7on3RYdg4Va+PmSTsz/K68vbdEjh4u" crossorigin="anonymous">
<!-- Optional theme -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css" integrity="sha384-rHyoN1iRsVXV4nD0JutlnGaslCJuC7uwjduW9SVrLvRYooPp2bWYgmgJQIXwl/Sp" crossorigin="anonymous">
<!-- Latest compiled and minified JavaScript -->
<script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/js/bootstrap.min.js" integrity="sha384-Tc5IQib027qvyjSMfHjOMaLkfuWVxZxUPnCJA7l2mCWNIpG9mGCD8wGNIcPD7Txa" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
</head>
<body>
<div class="btn btn-default">
outer button
<br />
<button class="btn btn-primary">
inner button
</button>
</div>
</body>
</html>
It is not valid to put a <button> inside a <button> element.
In the W3C recomendation for the button element you can read:
Content model:
Phrasing content, but there must be no interactive content descendant.
[source: w3.org (emphasis mine)]
Interactive content includes: