Child's Development

I recently read about moral development in children online and it interested me. Moral Development starts at an early age, however moral development plays a big part of social development in children from ages 6-8.  If parents decide to enroll their children into school at age 6, these children will probably make better moral decisions than children that do not go to school. This is because in school children learn what is wrong and what is right and learn from their teachers and other children. Moral reasoning also relies on cultural values, where children may learn from their culture or religion what must be done in a certain situation, in terms of moral reasoning.  Lawrence Kohlberg believed that some children at this age might still be in the pre conventional stage where they don’t do what is morally right in a situation but do what will benefit them. Lastly, it is believed that moral development in children is mainly affected by how their parents discipline them. For example if parents use power assertion and threaten or use physical force on their children, the child might obey and do what is morally right but only when their parents are present, otherwise the child feels resentful. If the parent uses induction, which is talking to child, and explaining things without using force, the child might do what is morally right in the next situation and not only when their parent are present. Overall moral development is a big part of a child’s development and shapes how they will be in the future.

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development