The Fairness Debate -- Who Deserves What?
Parent presents a moral dilemma scenario to the child and guides a discussion about what's fair and why. The agent coaches the parent to observe the child's perspective-taking, moral reasoning, empathy, and ability to construct and defend an argument.
Opens a guided voice session in TogetherTime.
What you'll need
No materials needed. Parent and child should be comfortable and face-to-face. Parent should be prepared to stay neutral and not steer the child toward a 'right' answer -- the goal is to hear the child's authentic reasoning.
How it works
- 1~45s
Great! Here's the story. Two kids, Sam and Alex, both want the last cookie. Sam hasn't had any cookies yet today. But Alex helped bake all the cookies. So who should get the last cookie -- the one who hasn't had any, or the one who helped make them? Parent, ask your child: 'What do you think is fair?' Let them answer, and then ask 'Why do you think that?' Tell me what they says.
Watch for: Child provides a reasoned judgment about who deserves the cookie and articulates a principle behind it
- 2~45s
Here's the next one. At recess, a group of kids is playing soccer. A new kid comes over and asks to join. But the teams are already even and there's only ten minutes left. Some kids say no because it will mess up the game. What should they do? Parent, present this to your child and ask: 'If you were one of the kids playing, what would you do?' Then ask: 'What if you were the new kid -- how would that change what you think?' Tell me how they responds to both questions.
Watch for: Child demonstrates empathy by considering the emotional experience of the excluded child
- 3~45s
Last tricky one! A kid finds twenty dollars on the ground at school. Nobody sees them pick it up. they could keep it, turn it in to the teacher, or try to find who lost it. Parent, ask your child: 'What would you do if you found twenty dollars and nobody saw you?' Then the key follow-up: 'Would your answer change if it was a hundred dollars? What about if you saw who dropped it?' Tell me what they says -- I'm especially interested in whether their reasoning changes with the details.
Watch for: Child applies consistent moral reasoning across variations of the scenario, or thoughtfully explains why the reasoning changes