Moral Development Of Your Children

As a parent, you work hard to set a positive example for your children and you hope that they are developing sound morals that are in line with the example that you have set for them.

Throughout your child’s life, you will undoubtedly be given numerous opportunities to witness the moral development of your child. Unfortunately there will likely be instances that make you feel that you have steered them wrong, but there will also be numerous occasions that make you extremely proud and may even bring a tear to your eye.

Today was one such occasion for me.

When I arrived home from work, I walked in the house and heard my oldest son call out to me from the office. As I put my work things away, I asked him what he was doing and he explained to me that he was writing a letter to his school.

The letter that he was writing was an explanation of why he believes that their math homework journal should not include the answers to each problem.

While the answers are intended for the parents to use for checking their child’s work, his friends were explaining to him that it is easy to finish the assignments each day by simply copying the answers from the back of the book.

It was very rewarding to not only see that he has learned that cheating on his homework is unacceptable but also that he would take the initiative to write a letter to his teacher as to why he felt that the answers should be removed from their math journal.

Has your child made you proud recently?

Hopefully the answer to that question is a resounding yes!

If you have noticed your child making suspect decisions, examine the actions that you have been taking.

Have you been telling white lies in front of your kids?

Are you bending the rules to your advantage?

It might not always be apparent but children are very adept at picking up on this behavior. As a result, the next time they face a difficult decision, they may justify making the wrong choice based on the example that you have created.

Teaching your children to think for themselves and make the choices that feel right to them will set them on the path towards the moral values that we hope that they will achieve.