The Moral Intelligence of Children: How to Raise a Moral Child - Softcover

Coles, Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0452279372 ISBN 13: 9780452279377

Publisher: Penguin, 1998

Synopsis

Robert Coles, one of America's leading authorities on young people, explores in this book a question crucial for many people today: How can you raise a child to be a good person whose moral character and strong values will steer and sustain him through life? This book distinguishes how moral intelligence is different from - but as important to success as - other kinds of human development, as significant as emotional or psychological growth, as IQ or intellectual development. Coles shows how children can be taught to become "smart" in this inner spiritual realm - to learn empathy, respect for themselves and others, and how to live the Golden Rule - through witnessing the conduct and caring of others and through moral conversations. Coles then embarks on an exploration of how values are born and shaped moment by moment, over what he calls "the moral archaeology of childhood." In infancy, Coles explains, there is a moral life that precedes language, and he considers the character of an infant, discussing such topics as Anna Freud's Yes and No, "the spoiled child, " and how to stop a baby from becoming a bully. The elementary school years are the Age of Conscience, when a child's character is built and consolidated - or fails to be - and Coles explores such problems as the schoolgirl caught cheating and the smart boy who distracts others so as to detract from their success. Combining anecdotes with instruction, Coles goes on to discuss what to do during the teenage years - how to cope with alcohol, drugs, sex, and other moral dilemmas.

About this title

Review

Robert Coles has written for many years of the personal aspects of childhood and the emotional and social development of children. In The Moral Intelligence of Children he goes deeper into the psychological foundation of the early morality he discussed in 1991's The Moral Life of Children. A child's moral archaeology, he tells us, is founded in infancy on the subtlest clues picked up from adults; he or she will absorb the parents' moral attitudes, moving toward his or her own adult morality, but these attitudes may not be exactly what the parents themselves think. This is ultimately a fascinating look at the difference between being a "good person" and being a "not-so-good person", and at how many layers exist between the blank slate of infancy and a real moral identity.

Review

"An inspiring book that is full of stories, examples, and provocative ideas that help the reader think differently about the important role adults play in shaping a child's moral intelligence. Cole's style of writing and use of case study examples and personal experiences is a delightful and effective way to illustrate such an abstract concept. This book should be read by parents, teachers, and clinicians."--Valerie Maholmes, The American Journal of Psychiatry "Written with his customary acute perceptiveness, this important inquiry will enlighten parents, teachers and caregivers concerned with children's moral intelligence."--Publishers Weekly "Coles' energy and intellectual reach by themselves have earned him public notice, but other qualities--such as clear prose and good taste in the prose of others, especially Walker Percy and Flannery O'Connor--have attracted a far wider audience than the jargon-spewing social scientists and language-hating literary critics of present-day academia could ever hope to enjoy... With unaffected reverence for the Golden Rule, Coles, as it were, lifts the child off the analyst's couch and deposits him back in the home. He urges us--particularly us parents--to see our children as morally educable, even when they're babies, and not just as primitive masses of conflicting emotions and needs."--John R. MacArthur, Los Angeles Times "There are two especially noteworthy features to Coles's argument. First, moral character is shaped from infancy through adolescence through witnessing the conduct and caring of others and through moral conversations. In this way, certain moral qualities, such as empathy, are nurtured or thwarted."--Larry Hultgren, Metapsychology "Intelligent, accessible and compelling, The Moral Intelligence of Children effectively captures the challenge, for children and parents alike, of struggling with life's ironies and ambiguities."--People

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0452279372
• ISBN 13: 9780452279377
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 222