Most parents tend to worry when a moral issue comes up. We think about all the terrible things that have happened in the name of morality and frankly we are not sure what it can mean or what role it can play in the things we teach our children. The problem is that we are raising children in a culture that seems to be trapped in a very serious moral decline.
It seems that more and more people are willing to do the wrong thing just to get ahead, no matter what damage is done along the way. So how do we speak about right and wrong in a meaningful way to our children?
Instead of abandoning morals altogether, we can think about cultivating kindness for our children. Rather than just teaching, we can find ways to harness the capacity for kindness, fairness, and justice. This is an inside-out job involving all ages. Today I want to talk to you about how to instill morality in our children taking morals into account.
Moral reasoning
Developmental theorists agree that young children do not have the cognitive ability for moral reasoning and rely on adults to know what is right from what is wrong. But even in a limited range of moral reasoning, you can still tap into empathy. When you explain to your children what is right about what is wrong with their behavior, You should also talk about how a behavior can have an effect on another person.
One way to do this is to ask children to put themselves in someone else's position when something is happening that could affect others.
Through the games
Almost any game requires children to play in turns, something very important for the construction of the concepts of fairness and kindness.d. To go one step further, you have to look for games and activities that require some kind of cooperation, such as leader and follower games. the ones that are built on cooperative games or even cooperative art projects.
Do not wait for your child to agree with everything but remember that sometimes, when they do not want to wait their turn or when they try to cheat to obtain better results, these are the best moments to be able to teach values and morals to their children. Whenever possible, It allows children to be the ones to develop their rules so that in this way, they comply with them to a better degree.
You would be surprised how children are able to establish logical norms and limits to achieve good cooperation results and to contribute to the well-being of the whole. This will help children internalize the process and build better self-esteem.
Through books and stories
Through books and stories young children can begin to open an inner dialogue about the fundamentals of morality. They can understand what empathy is, social responsibility, compassion, not judging others, etc. It is important that you select stories that involve moral dilemmas and that speak about the perspectives of various characters.
It is also a good idea to encourage children to think about how they could apply morality in their lives and on a daily basis, help them make connections between certain types of behavior and their own feelings (for example, if it is a story about how to share, how to talk or how they feel when they do this to themselves).
Rewards
Encouraging and rewarding good behavior in young children is by no means a good option to get them motivated by reward - it works until children develop a range of independent thoughts. Look for notice opportunities and praise acts of kindness and caring. You can turn it into a project with a table of points so that the children feel even more involved. Every time they do something good or useful you can have a list where they put a sticker and give them a reward when the list is full.
The family community
You must start with your family community, teach children about interdependence and social responsibility, and this is achieved by giving them homework. As children grow older, they can be assisted in completing their homework and given increasing responsibility.
Explain to the people in your family community the values that you are teaching your children so that they are able to follow the same educational line. In this way, your children will be able to understand that there is a certain coherence in the morality that exists in their closest environment.
Be a good example
You have to be the best example for your children, teach them that you have the right of action, walk in reality, know that actions have consequences. Try to be a good example every day of your life, be the person you want your children to become as they grow. This way you will be able to spend time together as a family and you will all be able to talk about moral and ethical issues.
Use the news to talk about morals
Community news or what you see on television at dinner can help you talk with your children about morals, about right and wrong. Everyday news comes alive and you can talk about it at home. Even elementary school children can engage in a discussion about current events in order to give their opinion and develop a sense of justice and fairness.
Encourage your children to share their opinions on current events so that they are able to reason and work on their independent morals. You will be amazed at the critical thinking that children can have if given the opportunity to do so.