Conscience and Moral Development

• When a child closely identifies with parents, one result is the growth of a strong conscience.
• Conscience and morality develop well when the parent–child relationship is satisfactory.
• Studies show that maternal warmth is linked with a stronger conscience, and boys with accepting fathers are more likely to have a strong conscience than boys whose fathers reject them.

• In the beginning, the baby is guided mainly by the pleasure principle.
• The baby does activities that give pleasure and satisfy personal needs and interests.
• At this time, behaviour is self-centred and not guided by ideas of right and wrong.

• First, early signs of conscience and morality can be seen in the preschool stage.
• During childhood, these signs develop very quickly.
• Gradually, the ego-centric behaviour of children is changed by the influence of parents and teachers.

A child slowly learns to move from thinking only about self to thinking about other people and the objects around them.

The child starts:

• Doing things for others.
• Making sacrifices for others.
• Sharing the difficulties and sufferings of others.

Many people and institutions help in the moral development of the child:

• Family
• School
• Temple, Gods and Goddesses, religious institutions
• Friends and classmates

These, together, help the child learn socially acceptable values and behaviour.

The child learns to follow different social rules, customs, and traditions, such as:

• Showing respect to everyone.
• Praying to God in the morning after bath and before breakfast.
• Showing respect to guests in the house.
• Not asking for food in a host’s house until it is provided.
• Not spitting here and there.
• Keeping things in their proper places and in proper order.
• Being amiable (friendly and pleasant) in behaviour and manners.
• Being kind to domestic animals.
• Developing many such good habits.

By forming such habits and attitudes, the child’s conscience and morality increase.

• From about 4–5 years old through middle childhood, morality and conscience develop in general.
• At this stage, morality is not limited to one or two specific behaviours, but is more generalised across many kinds of actions.

• A strong conscience comes from identifying with warm, accepting parents.
• Children move from pleasure-seeking and self-centred to caring for others and following social rules.
• Family, school, friends, and religious institutions together teach morality through everyday habits like respect, cleanliness, sharing, and kindness.
• In early and middle childhood, morality develops in a general way across many behaviours.