The Moral Intelligence of Children [Hardcover]

Robert Coles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 21, 1997

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the bestselling The Spiritual Life of Children now explores how to develop character in children, from infancy through the teenage years. During three stages in the "moral archaeology of childhood, " Coles shows how to spot moral crossroads, and what to do about them.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Despite our society's astounding success in securing material comfort and security, the moral crisis of modernity continues to be a thorn in our sides. Why is it that our superior educational system doesn't churn out superior moral adults? Robert Coles takes up where Daniel Goleman left off in his groundbreaking Emotional Intelligence and shows us how children learn moral behavior and how we can better teach them. Instead of theoretical essays filled with statistics and dry case studies, Coles's style of addressing the reader through the use of anecdotes and ruminations makes for a comfortable, engaging read.

From Publishers Weekly

Child psychiatrist Coles, who won a Pulitzer for The Spiritual Life of Children, now tackles the daunting subject of how parents, relatives and teachers give shape to children's moral values and behavior. Drawing on case studies, talks with parent groups, visits to nurseries and classrooms and interviews with children, the Harvard Medical School professor demonstrates that character develops from the very start of life and throughout adolescence, molded by parents' often unself-conscious moral guidance. Further, he documents that children have an innate moral curiosity, a hunger for adults to tell them how they should behave in various situations, and why. The shared, daily experience between emotionally connected adults and their children seems to be the crucial factor in instilling a well-developed moral sense, as underscored by Coles's tales of absent, detached or hurtful parents who raise destructively self-absorbed or morally adrift youth. Written with his customary acute perceptiveness, this important inquiry will enlighten parents, teachers and caregivers concerned with children's moral intelligence. 75,000 first printing; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 218 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1 edition (January 21, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067944811X
• ISBN-13: 978-0679448112
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,967,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert Coles is professor emeritus at Harvard University and the author of numerous books, including his series Children of Crisis, for which he won a Pulitzer Prize. He has also won a MacArthur Award, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a National Humanities Medal. He lives in Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars case studies make for a more tangible message, August 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Moral Intelligence of Children (Hardcover)

I found the authors case studies very useful and amusing. They made the subjest matter easier to grasp and understand in a way that I could relate it to my own experiences. The whole issue is a facinating and pertinant one in this day and age

5.0 out of 5 stars Passing on Moral Values to the Next Generation, February 24, 2011

By 

Daniel L. Berek (Flanders, NJ, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Moral Intelligence of Children (Hardcover)

"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind." So said Henry James in response to his nephew when he sought advice on what he ought to do with his life. Robert Coles, known for his extraordinarily insightful thought-provoking and profoundly sensitive five-volume work, Children in Crisis, delves into what it means to be moral and goes further to examine how children - even very young children - acquire moral values, that is learning empathy and living by the Golden Rule, not to do unto others what one would not want done unto himself.

In the first part, "Moral Intelligence," Dr. Coles examines what it means to be a good person or a not-so-good person. He discusses moral intelligence, that is, how children learn empathy and respect for others and themselves. He shows how this moral intelligence is as important, if not more important, other forms of human success and intellectual achievement.

In the second part, "The Moral Archaeology of Childhood," Dr. Coles explores how children acquire empathy and other critical moral values at various stages of childhood. Drawing upon the work of Anna Freud, the infant and toddler quickly learns by the limits of "Yes" and "No." He also discusses the problems of the spoiled child and how to prevent a baby from growing up to be a bully. Dr. Coles refers to the elementary school years as the "Age of Conscience," the period when a child's verbal skills enables him to take in what he sees, hears, and reads and try to make sense of everything. In his section on adolescence, Dr. Coles explores how teens try to cope with decisions and how to understand life and new responsibilities, including coping with alcohol, drugs, sex, and other moral questions. It is during these latter two stages of development that adults play a major role in the moral development of the child by leading through example and espousing positive and meaningful values themselves.

The role of adults - parents, teachers, caretakers, and doctors - is more fully explored in the third section of the book, "Letter to Teachers and Parents." Case studies of young people in the first two decades of their life provide important illustrations on the conscious and subconscious messages adults and society send to the next generation, with considerable introspection as to how parents and teachers in particular can best help children cultivate kindness and empathy by relating to them at their level and sending positive messages not through books and lectures, but actions.

Like Fred Rogers, Maria Montessori, Jonathan Kozol, and Janusz Korczak, Robert Coles knows how to relate to children on their level, as full human beings at an early stage of development rather than as miniature adults or "people in training." Such people are rare; anyone who cares about children would do well reading the works of these special pedagogues. The Moral Intelligence of Children is a valuable contribution to this important genre.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Title is misleading and the writing is obtuse, October 24, 2003

By 

Jason M. Trew (Covington, LA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Moral Intelligence of Children (Hardcover)

The description of the book made me believe that I would learn more about how children develop morals. The greatest revelation of the psychiatrist author is that character is the foundation of behavior. There are few novel thoughts stuck somewhere in the lengthy descriptions of his meetings. I felt at times he focused too much on creating a mood or setting that is best left to fiction.