As infants and toddlers grow, they will develop a sense of what is acceptable in their world. The development of morality is dependent on a child’s cognitive functions and growth. A child engages in a thinking process when they encounter a moral situation, which helps them determine right from wrong. Moral development also occurs through a child’s interaction with their social and environmental contexts. Theorist Uri Bronfenbrenner (1992) describes five interrelated systems which include:

• microsystem (family, peers)
• mesosystem (interaction between child, family, community)
• exosystem (neighborhood, media)
• macrosystem (wealth, poverty, race)
• chronosystem (major life changes, history)

A child’s core beliefs, temperament, and life experiences can all influence their sense of morality. Every day, children are surrounded by people and situations that guide their moral development. This could be through interactions with siblings or peers, or watching scenes from a show or movie. Caregivers play a major role in the early moral development of infants and toddlers. Children will observe the actions and intentions of the adults around them to gain understanding on how to respond to situations. Young children are rapidly building cognitive skills but those involved with logic and reasoning are still immature.

Theorist Lawrence Kohlberg believed that young children learn what is acceptable or not acceptable based on the punishments or rewards that occur after a behavior or situation (Kohlerg & Hersh, 1977). For example, a child might learn that it is not okay to hit their sibling because they get sent to a time out each time they hit. Around age two, children start to feel moral emotions and understand, at least somewhat, the difference between right and wrong. Part of this immaturity involves the way that empathy is developed. Young children are motivated by the threat of consequences. Therefore early on in their moral development, you might see that they are more concerned about being punished rather than the feelings of another person. A young child might also show signs of empathy if they see another child who is upset but generally, empathy often does not develop until the preschool years.

Moral development is gradual and each time a child violates a moral boundary set by their caregiver, it provides an opportunity for them to learn. Infants and toddlers make small moral choices daily such as deciding whether to share a toy or activity or thinking about taking an extra candy when their parent is not looking. It is important for caregivers to avoid shaming a child when they do something wrong. With proper care and guidance, young children will eventually be able to regulate their own sense of morality.