(June 20, 2021 at 10:06 pm)arewethereyet Wrote: None of those things have a thing to do with morality until the child is old enough to make actual decisions regarding their moral decisions.
Every parent has encountered the biter. That kid at daycare who is always biting other kids...I think it's out of frustration and they haven't been guided into dealing with that frustration. But that's not a moral shortcoming either. That kid has to be taught it's not acceptable to bite/hit/scratch the other kids.
Yes, this makes a lot of sense. Early on there is behavior which may look moral or immoral, but is simply some practical thing they've learned (or not learned) to get the result they want. They refrain from punching their brother not because it's moral, but because Dad will give him a time out.
I suppose cynics will say that even grown-ups only behave themselves for practical reasons. They refrain from murder to avoid prison, not because it is immoral to kill.
I had three siblings and one of the earliest moral-like things I picked up was "being fair." If our slices of birthday cake weren't all exactly the same size, we would yell about it. And I'm thinking this started pretty early. It's selfish (I might not have yelled if my sister's cake were smaller) but it's certainly rooted in thinking about what's right and wrong.
Do you recall about what age your kids showed this kind of behavior? -- But Mom it's not fair!
