Friday, January 27, 2012

The Development of a Conscience

When a child experiences the results - or consequences - of his behavior, he develops an inner voice. What does that voice say? It tells him that what is "right" brings satisfaction (or pleasure) and what is "wrong" brings dissatisfaction (or pain). The inner voice becomes a moral compass.

Why do some high profile celebs or politicians misbehave? I believe it's because they know they can get away with it. Someone else cleans up their mess, covers up their lies, replaces the money they took or things they've broken. Unfortunately, they've never experienced the consequences of their personal behavior. And the consequence is . . . they have no conscience.

We want educators, politicians, and others held accountable for any inappropriate behavior, right? Then we, as parents, must teach our children about accountability by allowing them to face the results of their behavior - to "own up to" their behavior.

Today, I encourage you to be effective in parenting by providing consistent boundaries and clear consequences for your children's behavior. Then. . . allow consequences to happen.

What do you think? Leave your comment now.

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1 comment:

Jan Murray said...

I absolutely agree with this post Brenda. best to learn to understand consequences from actions at an early age. Owning up and taking responsibility for things that are our fault!

Many adults have a lot to learn in this area. Better to learn this as a child from parents.