Tonya Klemmer
Module 4 DQ 1
Discuss how parents can help children deal with complex moral issues during the middle and late stages of childhood.
Children in the middle and late stages of childhood are beginning to spend more time with their peers. They are more concerned with what their social circle thinks of them. According to Caravita, Sijtsema, Rambaran, and Gini (2014), moreover, moral agency is cultivated and learned through the community in which people develop their social relationships and, depending on the circumstances, moral disengagement also can be considered a (peer) group characteristic. They begin to drift away from spending all of their time with family and are spending more time with friends and other adults.
Cognitive development becomes more concrete and logical. Kohlberg introduced her levels of morality and reported that this age group is in the conventional level. Kohlberg believed that children in middle and late childhood are now following rules and obeying laws as they grow and develop. The best thing parents can do is reinforce the values and morals and support their children through the process of determining what they value. Berger (2013) stated, parents and teachers take note: Raising moral issues, and letting children talk about them, may advance morality-not immediately, but soon. Having open communication with children is the best way to help them increase their moral development.
Berger, K. S. (2013). Invitation to the life span (2nd ed.). New York: Worth Publishers.
Caravita, S., Sijtsema, J., Rambaran, J., &Gini, G. (2014). Peer influences on moral disengagement in late childhood and early adolescence. Journal of Youth & Adolescence,43(2), 193-207. Doi:10.1007/s10964-013-9953-1
Alice Benningfield
Module 4 DQ 1
Discuss how parents can help children deal with complex moral issues during the middle and late stages of childhood.
The middle stages of childhood are experienced between the ages of six to seven years. Children at this stage can carry out basic responsibilities such as dressing themselves and tying shoes and are beginning to show signs of independence. One way parents can help children handle complicated situations is to have open communication to discuss what is considered wrong and right, as well as the consequences of making bad decisions (Lau, Li, &Rao, 2012. These discussions may enable children to be able to deal with a complex moral issue using the proper means.
Giving a child an opportunity to make their decisions with guidance from the parent can enable them to cope with complex future ethical problems in the absence of the parent (Lau et al., 2012). According to Lau et al. (2012), instilling discipline rather than administering punishment is also important in helping a child to cope up with complex moral issues. Children at the late stages of childhood are between the ages of eight to eleven years. Children at this stage are entering the adolescent stage. Parents may expose the child to decision-making to aid in developing decision-making skills. During these stages of childhood, communication and understanding is essential in bringing up a morally upright child who can cope up with complex moral issues (Lau et al., 2012).
Lau, E. H., Li, H., &Rao, N. (2012). Exploring parental involvement in early years' education in China: development and validation of the Chinese Early Parental Involvement Scale (CEPIS).International Journal of Early Years Education, 20(4), 405-421.