Unwise punishments

[Singingmom]

The thought occured to me today that there are some common punishments that rob children of something. Take extra chores for example. Work shouldn't be a punishment. It's part of life, and being prepared to be adults with a strong work ethic is so important. We work in order to take care of ourselves and each other. To provide for our families and to manage our households well. If a child is repeatedly punished by having to do work, he may lose the natural ease with which he would otherwise view work. Work is a blessing.

Another example I thought of is writing sentences for punishment. Writing is such an important skill, and to love it can only benefit a child. When you use it as punishment, you run the risk of causing your child to hate it. I know parents who have their dc copy Bible verses that relate to their sin. In a character training context, yes, but when presented as a punishment, it wouldn't encourage a love for the scriptures.

What are some other examples?

[milkmommy]

Well when DH taught Jr High they'd hand out lunch dention for everything and often to the "rowdy boys" and it always made me :scratch that no one seemed to make the connection between the hyper behavior and removing there one chance to get out that pinned up energy. SO of course it was just an endless cycle :rolleyes

Oh I also get annoyed when my brother as punishment makes his kids repeat the offending action cause its sosposed to make then hate doing it so like if they stomp there feet or something he makes them do that over and over untill there all Please daddy no more. Not only is it mean but makes no sense to order them to countinue what you want stopped. :scratch

Deanna

[Savmom]

My uncle would make his kids smoke a whole carton of cigarettes if he caught them smoking. All his kids are now chain smokers :doh

[thomer]

My uncle would make his kids smoke a whole carton of cigarettes if he caught them smoking. All his kids are now chain smokers :doh


This one actually worked for me. I almost never smoked again after that.

[marathonmom]

sing.

Another example I thought of is writing sentences for punishment. Writing is such an important skill, and to love it can only benefit a child. When you use it as punishment, you run the risk of causing your child to hate it. I know parents who have their dc copy Bible verses that relate to their sin. In a character training context, yes, but when presented as a punishment, it wouldn't encourage a love for the scriptures.

What are some other examples?


I just had to respond to this, because Hairdo hates hates hates to write. My dh used to have her write sentences 100 times as discipline when she was 5 or 6 years old. I mentioned this might be a problem, but o well.

[Katherine]

isolation
excercise
eating foods under duress


Punishment is *always* manipulative by it's very nature--forcing change in the heart/mind and behavior of another person IS the intent, and it can often have unanticipated and unpredictable effects.

When you get right down do it, it's frighteningly prideful of us to think that we can so easily tweak, twist, and mold another complex human being--someone created by the Almighty and in His image no less. :jawdrop :no2 HE is the potter.

[beccafromlalaland]

I never understood "in school suspension" at my school, teachers could give it to you if you didn't hand in 2 or more assignments, if you were tardy without a note, or if your library book was overdue.

So you sat in a room staring at a brick wall for 8hrs not talking, doing "seat work" lunch was brought to you, or you ate with the elementary kids (k-12 were in the same building) Then you end up an entire day behind in notes, test notices, homework expectations, etc. 9x's out of 10 the kid ended up back in "In school" because he didn't know what was expected of him.

[UltraMother]

Literally *anything* can be used as a punishment.

[Aisling]

Literally *anything* can be used as a punishment.

yeah. :rolleyes My mom used to make my brother and I sit down and write sincere compliments to each other whenever we argued.

[Zipporah]

I'm pretty sure that the punishments involving food (that thankfully are becoming a bit less popular than they were when I was a kid) are at least partially to blame for the number of westerners who have an unhealthy relationship with food.