Moral Development 2 Years to 19 Years

2 1/2 Years.
Toddlers learn that others share their world; others have needs and rights, too. At this age the child does not yet have the ability to judge something as “right” or “wrong” but they are directed by what others tell him. At this age a child doesn’t yet have the ability to realize he hurts someone when he hits them but they quickly learn that hitting is “wrong” because parents tell him so or because he gets punished for it.

3 to 4 years.
A major turning point in moral development occurs at this stage: the child begins to internalize family values, what’s important to the parents becomes important to the child. Many children start to show morally-based behaviors and beliefs. It is believed that young children behave morally because they fear authority and try to avoid punishment. In other words, little kids follow the rules because they don’t want to get in trouble.

5 to 6 years.
A six-year-old may say to a friend, “In our family we do…this is normal to that child. Later in this stage children begin to understand the concept of the Golden Rule and to consider how what they do affects other people and how to be considerate. They understand the roles of “child” and “adult” and need maturity from the adult. They start to understand consequences and can grasp the when-then connection: when I misbehave, then this happens.

7 to 9 Years
At this age children start to question whether parents are infallible and may think perhaps these people in charge don’t know it all. This strong sense of “should do” and “should not do” sets some children up to tell tales.

9 to 11 Years.
At this age children have a strong sense of fairness, understand the necessity of rules and start to realise that authority is not threatening to the child, but necessary for social living. They begin to believe that children have opinions too so they begin to sort out which values profit them most — a sort of “what’s in it for me” stage.

11 to 13 years.
At this age children strive to be popular. They are vulnerable to peer pressure and they sort out which values they will benefit for themselves and those that will not benefit them. Teenagers are impulsive due to the amygdala section of the brain develops first this is the impulse part of the brain the frontal cortex is for reasoning and control develops later so teenagers sometimes have no concept of morals this is a critical time when teenagers are finding their own identity and that they are starting to change into an adult. They are able to think beyond themselves, more and to understand the perspective of another.

13 to 19 Years
A young person of this age is more capable of abstract reasoning about moral values and becomes interested in what’s good for society. Adolescents approach moral decision making in a way that reflect the complex moral decision making of adults. its believed that moral development in adolescence is learnt from law, fairness and duty. Adolescences are mostly concerned with caring for the closest personal relationships, as well as fulfilling their roles and responsibilities within their communities.