If I see it, it's mine. If I want it, it's mine. If I take it, it's mine. Sound familiar? If so, you've probably spent some time with a 2- or 3-year-old. Teaching your toddler morals, or right from wrong, is probably one of the most important, yet most difficult, job parents face.
Significance
In a world where juvenile crime, teen pregnancy and suicide are all-too commonplace, it becomes more and more important to teach morals and values at an early age. Schools have added character education into their curriculum, but a child's earliest and best education comes from their parents, and it needs to start as soon as the child can begin understanding right from wrong, usually at 2 to 3 years of age.
History
Jean Piaget, a Swiss developmental psychologist, was the first to divide moral development into five stages. Lawrence Kohlberg followed up Piaget's work in the 1970s and found that at age 2 or 3 a child's moral development is based on what he is told is right or wrong. As the child enters preschool age, he begins to internalize his family's values as his own and begins to understand rules and consequences.
What to Expect
Two-and 3-year-olds often have a whirlwind of emotions but lack the verbal skills to express them. Therefore, they will exhibit sometimes exasperating behaviors. According to the National Network for Childcare, kids this age are capable of frequent tantrums if they don't get their way, can be very possessive of their belongings, and can show aggressive behavior with the intent to hurt someone.
How to Teach Morals
Children learn best by watching their parents. Model the behaviors you want your children to exhibit. Use age-appropriate books to teach lessons such as sharing and telling the truth. Teach your child sympathy and empathy, and praise your child when she makes good choices. Gently correct the bad choices.
Patience
Moral education does not happen overnight. A 2-year-old child does not have a sense of what is right and wrong; he only knows what he has been told. Once a child enters preschool, and starts to understand his family values, he accepts them as a definitive "right," even when he sees a friend who has been taught differently. Children this age learn to turn to an adult to take charge, and as they grow older, they begin to accept consequences for their actions. According to pediatrician Dr. Sears, author of more than 30 books about children and child development, once a child is about 7 years old, he will be begin to question what he has been told and start to define his own set of moral beliefs.
