Every once in a while an article appears singing the praises of punishment and telling us how to do it. Often to angry, beleaguered parents this kind of advice seems to make good sense. What follows are quotes from a variety of professionals in the mental health field who have another point of view about punishment.
Punishment is a very ineffective method of discipline . .
Many parents use punishment simply because no one has ever taught them better ways of disciplining their children. The act of disciplining a child can be a frustrating one. However, at the outset it needs to be stressed that discipline means education . If it is to work, discipline requires mutual respect and trust. On the other hand, punishment requires external control over a person by force and coercion.