Children and Pre-Conventional Morality

Stage 1 – Obedience and Punishment
The earliest stage of moral development is especially common in young children, but adults are also capable of expressing this type of reasoning. At this stage, children see rules as fixed and absolute. Obeying the rules is important because it is a means to avoid punishment. ((http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/kohlberg.htm))