Children after three or four are given low status until they reach adulthood. Children are taught always to show deep respect for their elders, to be obedient and unquestioning towards authority. Children must not interrupt adults engaged in conversation or call adults by their name. Respect is demonstrated by their behavior and the language they use with elders. It is common for children to stay at home until marriage, this being mainly due to economic reasons and to avoid them inheriting unacceptable characteristics form the outside world.
Discipline is taught in subtle ways, through common values. Fathers are traditionally the authority figures who are seen as making the roles; mothers enforce the rules for children. Discipline is further reinforced by the whole community. The norms of good behavior are traditionally very clear, so anybody, even a stranger, can correct a Childs poor behaviors. A child protects family pride by trying to behave well. Self-identity is regarded as based on strong group identity and goes from the group to the individual rather than the other way around.
Ethiopian Books for Children &
Educational Foundation 
