• UGI USER
  • Sep 05, 2023
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Q. Unstable marriages and families can lead to failures of moral development in children and overall moral decline in the society. Discuss.

Approach:

  • Write a short note on the role of families towards the inculcation of moral values in children.
  • Comment on the instability of families in contemporary times and its effect on the moral development in children and overall moral decline in the society.
  • Conclude appropriately.

Answer:

Quality of family life is one of the most important determinants of morality and character in children. The family, along with other institutions like schools, places of worship, legal institutions etc. contribute to the process of character development of a child. However, in comparison to the family, the other institutions have less of an impact in this aspect.

Role of family in character and moral development of children

  • A child’s effectiveness in dealing with the social world and the socialization process emerges largely from experiences with his/her parents. This is because children are influenced the most by those persons with whom they are emotionally attached.
  • It is the role of the parents to teach, model and reinforce pro-social behavior and moral values to their children. Children follow their parents’ behavior, even if it is bad.
  • Parents have to inculcate the regular use of reasoning in behavior management to build on a child’s instinctive feelings of empathy. For instance, pointing out the consequences of a child’s negative behavior such as fighting, bullying etc. on other people.

In the contemporary period, there are increasing instances of unstable marriages and families. This can have a negative impact on the moral development of children and society in the following ways:

  • The crucial amount of time that parents spend raising their children has diminished, largely due to the absence of fathers and mothers who are busy due to their careers.
  • If a child does not have a strong emotional attachment to a parent/parents, the effectiveness of the parent/ parents as teachers and moral guide gets diminished.
  • Without the supervision of parents, children are likely to get more influenced by their peers and indulge in activities such as smoking, stealing etc.
  • Children are exposed to their parents separating at an early stage. Further, children today are more likely to spend some time with just one parent.
  • With the families becoming nuclear and child-rearing families becoming even more isolated, there is less focus on the overall development of children.
  • Research has shown that adolescents from single-parent households are more prone to delinquent behaviours, including drug and alcohol use.
  • At an early age, children are being exposed to popular culture as produced by the organized entertainment industry and transmitted by the media that is overloaded with adult sexuality and violence, and dominated by materialistic values.
  • Absentee parents will not be able to monitor their children’s activities and the amount of time they spend on social media.

Therefore, the processes by which character and morality are taught to children require an immense amount of contact time between parents and their children. The parent must be physically present and emotionally, intellectually, and morally engaged. Character traits such as honesty, cooperation, responsibility, and self-reliance, are learned first within the family sphere. If learned well, these traits are then transferred beyond the family to deal with the society at large.