Do you think we put too much emphasis on teaching our children morals?

Question

I mean, are we all such beasts at heart that we all need to spend our childhoods being constantly drilled about right and wrong behavior and being threatened with everlasting punishment if we make the wrong decisions and have the wrong impulses? And that’s just from a religious perspective. Even the stories we tell our children and the movies we take them to see every school holidays are loaded with messages designed to teach children moral behavior. Why is there such an influence on morals?

Answer 1

No I don't. As a parent, I think it's vitally important that I teach my child right and wrong. But the thing is, morality is largely (maybe even mostly) subjective. So I teach my child what I believe to be moral and immoral.
What I think we put to much emphasis on is teaching our children someone else's morals.

Answer 2

You are bringing up a good point. When United States was a great country like between 1860 to 1945, sports weren't that important. People focused on real work and education. Now educated people are called Nerd or Geek and are being discriminated in society and schools. In the meantime, United States lead in science technology begin to slip, first to Japan, then Korea, in the future China and India will be ahead of the U.S. Japan now build better cars, Korea better ships, China building better railroad and office towers than the United States. In the meantime, the Football teams here are raping girls and the police are covering them up. How sad this country has became.

Answer 3

American youth show little evidence of moral behavior. Take a look at this study by the Josephson Institute. http://www.josephsoninstitute.org/reportcard/

The tool most often used to get children to behave is praise and acceptance, not threats.

Answer 4

So do you think it is better to teach our children, not to be moral? I cannot understand why this would bother you- unless you really don't think being moral is important. Even if you choose not to be a Christian- shouldn't you want to teach your children right from wrong? Maybe I am not understanding your question here.

Answer 5

I don't think we put ENOUGH emphasis on them.
Frankly, I think we should tell little Johnny 'Listen to me or I'll beat the crap out of you' and follow up with it.
He'll learn quickly.
[I'm kidding about the beating part. But seriously. more emphasis on good behavior.]

And we put such an emphasis on them to show kids how to be socially well-rounded creatures. Homo sapien is a very socially dependent creature, after all.

Answer 6

Understand what you are saying, although without some morals, children would all be like Brittany Spears or Paris.

Answer 7

so i guess this means you don't have any children ,you surely don't have teenagers.just as the dietary code of the old testament was a matter of sanitation ,a moral compass helps keep kids out of physical danger.i can't believe you don't get this ,you seem pretty sharp otherwise.

Answer 8

I think its quite the opposite, we don't emphasis morals on children enough anymore.

Answer 9

Hmm, that doesn't sound like my childhood. Though my parents were vocal and involved, most of my morals are derived from their actions, especially when things were tight.

The worse things were, the calmer my father was.

Ironic that Hurricane Katrina led to his death, no?

Answer 10

I don't think children get taught enough about morals. But I don't threaten them with everlasting punishment, they know that Christ is the source of forgiveness.