The prospect of the beating became just as imminent as the mischievous good times. In other words, if you wish to frighten a child, or most adults for that matter, both the reward and the punishment have to be immediate, and the more distant the less effective both the reward and the punishment grow. Very small children between the ages of two and five do have nightmares, but these involve usually imaginary creatures that lurk under the bed or in the closet and threaten immediate harm. I have reared eight children, and they all went through such bogeyman deliriums. None of them ever woke up worrying about something as distant as hellfire.
Death never ceases to be a distant event.
I am in my sixties now, and death and hell seem closer, at least closer than when I was age six. But I can't say it frightens people my age any more than the young. Therefore, I tell my teachers to teach about hell, but not to bother to use death and hell as threats. It is much better to threaten them with the loss of a trinket, a reward, or such trifles, because such threats are very effective, if immediate and backed up consistently. If you wish to be an effective Christian teacher or parent, make your threats imminent, tangible and consistent.