Nursery World - Right & wrong

We expect young children to learn moral behaviour, but does it come naturally to them? Penny Tassoni looks at theories of development and good practice in the nursery At what age do children really understand right from wrong? Moral development in children is not as clear-cut as one might suppose. While some children will tell you that they should not snatch or hurt another child, they may still at times show this behaviour. The Foundation Stage has quite high expectations of children's moral develop- ment. In the personal, social and emotional area of learning, the early learning goal is that children should 'understand what is right, what is wrong, and why'. In some respects this may turn out to be a tall order for many children, so it is worth looking at how children learn moral development.

At what age do children really understand right from wrong? Moral development in children is not as clear-cut as one might suppose. While some children will tell you that they should not snatch or hurt another child, they may still at times show this behaviour. The Foundation Stage has quite high expectations of children's moral develop- ment. In the personal, social and emotional area of learning, the early learning goal is that children should 'understand what is right, what is wrong, and why'. In some respects this may turn out to be a tall order for many children, so it is worth looking at how children learn moral development.

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