Question

Define punishment and offer a convincing argument against its use with children.

Answer 1

Punishment is the imposition of penalty for a person’s wrongful actions. It can take different forms such as physical punishment (hitting, slapping, spanking, etc) and verbal punishment (cursing, shaming, using hurtful language). Parents may even use methods like penalties and denying rewards, e.g., not allowing children to play until they eat their food. Children are often punished for disobedience, irresponsibility, bad behavior, etc. Parents should understand that children need to be disciplined and not punished. They often fail to realize that children tend to repeat bad behavior rather than refrain from it when they are punished. Using an unpleasant method to correct their behavior is not going to help. Punishing children has a huge impact on their mental state. As they grow up, they start feeling isolated and unloved. They may even engage in violent or aggressive behavior. Even when they become adults, they may feel traumatized by their past childhood experiences. This affects their psychological well being in the long term. So, parents/teachers/elders should avoid showing their frustration on children or treating them harshly. There are always better ways to discipline children.