Role and Importance of Moral Development for Kids

There have been many times in our lives where we accidentally have said inappropriate things and offended the person we were talking to. This can happen even in adulthood. There is a right place and time for everything. Knowing what to say and when to say it is very important to understand. Moral Development means learning to spot differences between right and wrong, proper and improper. The importance of Moral Development is undeniable. Even though moral development is a complex thing to learn about, it seems easier and far more adaptable if it is taught to us from a young age. That is why moral development is one of the important skills that are mostly learned through school activities. Without any doubt, moral development is an important part of the socialization process.

Lawrence Kohlberg (1927–1987) seemed interested in knowing how people learn to decide what is ‘wrong’ and what is ‘right’. So, to find that out he developed a theory of Moral Development which includes three levels of Moral Development. They are:

• Preconventional
• Conventional
• Postconventional

These levels further divide into sub-levels as well.

Here are a few points that prove the importance of Moral Development to everyone, from a Child to an Adult:

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• Moral choices are not only limited to certain situations but they are a part of everyone’s daily life. From children to adults, the presence of morality is important now more than ever. Even in classrooms, moral choices can be tested on a normal basis. For example, a teacher tells students to read aloud one after the other in the class. Now the teacher should choose whether he or she wants to give more time to a student who finds it difficult to read or to give every student the same amount of time. The teacher will have to think about which option is more fair and considerate.
• There are different sides of morality as there are different stages of moral development. The morality of justice is important to keep the society and make it better every passing day. The morality of justice means developing your morale regarding human rights like respect for equality, impartiality, fairness in personal as well as professional lives, individual and individual independence.

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• Moral development is crucial when you enter adult life. In the world we live in today, it is important to be respectful, walk on the right track and avoid doing anything that might harm your reputation. Moral development helps you with improving your beliefs because it is possible to believe wrong things while growing up considering many times people don’t bother telling you what is wrong or right. Many children don’t get proper education about morality and ethics which leads them in the wrong direction.
• According to Kohlberg’s theory, many definitions would help you determine what is right, what is good. For example, Action that is rewarded and not punished, an action that is agreeable to the child and child’s partner, an action that wins approval from friends or peers, the action that conforms to the community customs or laws, the action that follows socially accepted ways of making decisions, the action that is consistent with self-chosen, general principles is good. Because in each of these actions both of the parties are respecting boundaries, following laws, and adapting to the development of morality.

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The importance of moral development is, of course, understood by adults and kids as well as it helps tremendously in the professional and personal growth of an individual. There are many moral choices you will need to make in life and moral development helps you make the right one!

Originally published at https://www.sanjeevdatta.com on June 14, 2021.