Skip to Main Content

Parenting: Moral Education/Development

A research topic guide covering aspects of parenting, including discipline, development, single parenthood, sex education, technology, and adoption.

Resources

Research & Reference

Perspectives

Talk with Your Kids

A guide for parents to help their children better understand the world around them by helping them think through the questions they face regarding honesty, friendship, sensitivity, fairness, dedication, individuality and 103 other character-building issuesMany families and almost all schools spend a great deal of time developing children academically, but studies show tht scholastic achievement is not the only key to future success. Developing non-cognitive skills, which children often learn from their parents, is equally relevant.Talk with Your Kids prompts thoughtful and effective discussion between parents and children by posing 109 open-ended questions. Many of the questions reflect situations immediately relevant to kids, such as cyber-bullying, cheating in school or in sports, accepting differences, illegal music downloads, what defines lying, and making choices about drugs and sex.Other questions ask kids to consider larger dilemmas, such as medical ethics and medical testing, declaring war, crime and punishment, eating meat, and more. Parker also offers suggestions to parents on how to keep the conversations going and encourage kids to think more deeply about an issue. Throughout the book are questions based on the theories of famous ethicists and philosophers, including John Stuart Mill, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Hobbes, and Jean Jacques Rousseau.Best-selling parenting books such as How Children Succeed and Nurtureshock emphasize the importance of strong values in a child. The conversations in Talk with Your Kids help parents achieve this goal.

Kids of Character

When psychologists Shumaker and Heckel wrote their earlier book on Children Who Murder, it became clear to them that society--specifically a significant portion of its young members--is in crisis. Focused on this crisis, these authors found an everyday issue that makes life more challenging for parents who are trying to raise kids of good character. The issue is this: There are extensive differences now in the family, the school environment, the community and even religious institutions, compared to previous generations. For example, familes of today rarely have a coherent extended family. And by far in most regions, dual working parents are common, as are single parents and stepfamilies. Church activities, events and agents are not as evident in the community as they were in the past. Schools under increasing demand for testing and measurement take less time to devote to issues of character. Altogether, the changes are significant, and can leave parents searching for ways to instill character in their kids. Shumaker and Heckel spotlight these historical changes, and also ways parents today are succeeding in creating kids of character nonetheless. When authors Shumaker and Heckel wrote their earlier book on Children Who Murder, it became clear to them that society--specifically a significant portion of its young members--is in crisis. Focused on this crisis, these authors found an everyday issue that makes life more challenging for parents trying to raise kids of character. The challenge is this: there are extensive differences now in the family, the school environment, the community and even religious institutions, compared to previous generations. For example, families of today rarely have a coherent extended family. Dual working parents are common. Church activities, events and agents are not nearly as evident in the community as they were in the past. And schools, under increasing demand for testing and measurement, devote far less time to issues of character than they did in the past. Altogether, the changes are significant and can leave parents at a loss for how to best develop character intheir kids. Shumaker and Heckel show us how some parents are creatively handling this challenge. The authors do not argue that most American kids are out of hand, cruel, or immoral. They are neither cynics nor prophets of doom. What they do see is a disappearance of supports for parents, making the adults'job more demanding. Yet they pinpoint ways some parents are succeeding in this new millennium. This book begins by explaining the basics of moral development in children reviewing recent research findings. If offers parents, teachers, professors, administrators, clergy, and legislators helpful tools to promote character.

Character Matters

Award-winning psychologist and educator Thomas Lickona offers more than one hundred practical strategies that parents and schools have used to help kids build strong personal character as the foundation for a purposeful, productive, and fulfilling life. Succeeding in life takes character, and Lickona shows how irresponsible and destructive behavior can invariably be traced to the absence of good character and its ten essential qualities: wisdom, justice, fortitude, self-control, love, a positive attitude, hard work, integrity, gratitude, and humility. The culmination of a lifetime's work in character education from one the preeminent psychologists of our time, this landmark book gives us the tools we need to raise respectful and responsible children, create safe and effective schools, and build the caring and decent society in which we all want to live.

The Parents We Mean to Be

Harvard psychologist Richard Weissbourd argues incisively that parents--not peers, not television--are the primary shapers of their children's moral lives. And yet, it is parents' lack of self-awareness and confused priorities that are dangerously undermining children's development. Through the author's own original field research, including hundreds of rich, revealing conversations with children, parents, teachers, and coaches, a surprising picture emerges. Parents' intense focus on their children's happiness is turning many children into self-involved, fragile conformists. The suddenly widespread desire of parents to be closer to their children--a heartening trend in many ways--often undercuts kids' morality. Our fixation with being great parents--and our need for our children to reflect that greatness--can actually make them feel ashamed for failing to measure up. Finally, parents' interactions with coaches and teachers--and coaches' and teachers' interactions with children--are critical arenas for nurturing, or eroding, children's moral lives. Weissbourd's ultimately compassionate message--based on compelling new research--is that the intense, crisis-filled, and profoundly joyous process of raising a child can be a powerful force for our own moral development. AUTHOR Richard Weissbourd is a child and family psychologist on the faculty of Harvard's School of Education and Kennedy School of Government. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Chicago Tribune. Weissbourd is the author of The Vulnerable Child, recently named by the American School Board Journal as one of the top ten educational books of all time. *

Emily Post's the Gift of Good Manners

From America's trusted name in etiquette, this comprehensive guide explains step by step how to teach manners to children from toddlerhood through the teen years -- the first such Emily Post guide in more than half a century. Etiquette authority Peggy Post and noted educator Cindy Post Senning, Ed.D., show parents, grandparents, and other caregivers how to teach children manners at every age and for every situation at home, at school, and with friends. Uniquely structured by the stages of children's development, The Gift of Good Manners helps parents set age-appropriate, realistic goals as their child's world expands from crib and home to school, neighborhood, and community. Each section contains chapters on developing and demonstrating morals and ethics through specific actions; respecting oneself and others; and the essentials of spoken and written communication. Practical examples abound on everyday manners in every situation from the dinner table to restaurant dining; classroom behavior to sleepovers; and first thank-you notes to first dates and first job interviews. Special sections address parents' most asked questions; health and safety issues; toys, games, and activities; and special thoughts for grandparents. The Posts also advise on sticky situations that today's families often face: easy ways for busy parents to teach and model mannerly behavior; navigating the social politics of birthday parties, carpools, and school events; supervising teen parties; negotiating use of the phones; and much more. Filled with the practical examples and resourceful advice that has made the Emily Post name the etiquette choice of millions, The Gift of Good Manners proves that now, more than ever, manners are fundamental to success in life and are one of the greatest gifts parents can give.

The Marshmallow Test

Renowned psychologist Walter Mischel, designer of the famous Marshmallow Test, explains what self-control is and how to master it. A child is presented with a marshmallow and given a choice: Eat this one now, or wait and enjoy two later. What will she do? And what are the implications for her behavior later in life? The world's leading expert on self-control, Walter Mischel has proven that the ability to delay gratification is critical for a successful life, predicting higher SAT scores, better social and cognitive functioning, a healthier lifestyle and a greater sense of self-worth. But is willpower prewired, or can it be taught? In The Marshmallow Test, Mischel explains how self-control can be mastered and applied to challenges in everyday life -- from weight control to quitting smoking, overcoming heartbreak, making major decisions, and planning for retirement. With profound implications for the choices we make in parenting, education, public policy and self-care, The Marshmallow Test will change the way you think about who we are and what we can be.