Using Word 2007. When I put password protection on the template, the template child doc also gets the same password protection. I want to prevent tampering on the template, but I want the child doc to be fully editable for the end user. After all, isn't that the purpose of a template? I just don't want anyone to be able to edit the template itself, which also seems like the purpose of a template. Am I missing something about not seeing how to configure this obvious functionality? Is this doable? Thank you.

If you are using the template, as a template, that is, Word is creating a new document based on the template, you should not need password protection. Simply make the template "read-only" in its Windows properties. Alternatively, do not give your users write privileges in your templates folders.
Templates in Microsoft Word
File New Variations in the Versions of Word