How to Teach a Moral Act
Parents want their child to learn morality and appropriate moral behavior. It is important for parents to realize that morality and moral acts are not an innate ability of the child, but rather a learned behavior that stems from what he is taught at home. Teaching your child a moral act and how to behave in a moral manner provides him with a foundation in morality and good behavior.
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Instructions
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Show examples of moral actions. Teaching morality starts with how you behave and the model you show your child. To teach a moral act, you must model the act. A child will act as she sees even when she is not yet old enough to talk.
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Teach methods of managing emotions like anger. Depending on the child's age, you might tell him to draw his feelings when he is angry or set him to a task like cleaning to get out the energy of negative emotions. For the child who is often angry, you can teach meditation or relaxation techniques or tell the child to take a deep breath and count to ten.
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Spend time with your child. Teaching moral acts requires being available as a model to your child. A child will mimic what she sees and hears, so if a parent is around the child often, she will mimic the behavior of the parent. Parents who are not around will find that their child mimics what she sees on TV, a teacher or peers, who might not exhibit the morality you want your child to learn.
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Talk to the child about the behaviors you expect. This means setting strict rules the child is expected to follow and following your own rules. For example, if you expect your child to speak respectfully to everyone around him, you should always speak respectfully to your spouse, child and any guests in your home even if you disagree. This shows the child what is expected from him.
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Set clear consequences for inappropriate and immoral acts. If the child does something that is immoral or breaks the rules, you should enforce the consequences, which you have previously explained. For example, a child who speaks disrespectfully might get time out for ten minutes or lose the privilege of TV for a week.
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Ask moral questions. One method of helping a child learn moral behavior is giving hypothetical questions and some choices; then talk with the child about the choices and consequences. For example, you might ask a child what he should do if he sees someone getting bullied at school. Give options like "go get a teacher" or "walk away and ignore the bully." This helps the child determine the best actions based on situations he might encounter.
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Moral behavior must be modeled and learned over time. A child lives in private and public what she learns at home.
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References
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