Page 110 - Meeting with Children Book
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moment afterwards to reinforce a lesson. Securely
attached children are more capable of empathy for others
and these children tend to demonstrate higher levels of
empathy for others.
Toddlers are limited by impulse control problems and they
are not consistently able to follow parent expectations due
to ego-centrism and self-preoccupation. It is important for
caregivers to temper their expectations. This being said,
caregivers who do not set limits or model negative behavior
are setting the stage for diminished pro-social behavior and
a lack of internalized values.
Lawrence Kohlberg expanded on the earlier work of
cognitive theorist Jean Piaget to explain the moral
development of children. Kohlberg believed that moral
development, like cognitive development, follows a series
of stages. He used the idea of moral dilemmas—stories that
present conflicting ideas about two moral values—to teach
10 to 16 year-old boys about morality and values. The best
known moral dilemma created by Kohlberg is the "Heinz"
dilemma, which discusses the idea of obeying the law
versus saving a life. Kohlberg emphasized that it is the way
an individual reasons about a dilemma that determines
positive moral development. Kohlberg identified 3 levels of
morality each containing two stages, which provide the
basis for moral development in various contexts.
Each level of morality contains two stages, which provide
the basis for moral development in various contexts. The
pre-conventional Level One of moral reasoning is especially
common in young children, although adults can also exhibit
this level of reasoning. Reasoners at this level judge the
morality of an action by its direct consequences. For the
1.5- 4 year age band, children are mostly considered as
falling into the category of Preconventional Morality.