ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we investigate everyday or practical ethics, considering morality not as a set of principles but rather as an activity. As a form of social infraction, non-compliance provides an opportunity for metacommentary – reflexive commentary or everyday moral reasoning about the form of sociality in play with respect to rights and responsibilities.
Metacommentary categorizes and assesses current behavior, exposing the child to ways of reflecting on (and weighing up to) the current situation.
With such moves, parents can sanction children’s inappropriate conduct, i.e., a child’s slow uptake to a directive. There is also the opportunity to socialize the child with respect to what counts (in the family culture) as morally inappropriate behavior and to provide rules projecting a morally adequate person in the future. Parents shape their comments as admonishments, rule formulations, and disciplining accusations and show their moral and affective stances toward a child’s actions. Through such practices in the midst of mundane social activities, culturally specific moral systems and disposition toward moral virtue are articulated, debated, and socialized. In this process, there is considerable variation in how trust and moral accountability are established in families.
