Prompt: It is important for children to learn the difference between right and wrong at an early age. Punishment is necessary to help them learn this distinction. To what extent do you agree or disagree? What sort of punishment should parents and teachers be allowed to use to teach good behaviour for children?

There exists a controversial notion that children at a young age are supposedly taught how to differentiate right and wrong and the key factor helping them attain this skill is punishment. I am personally in favour of this idea for some following compelling reasons and this essay would suggest some other feasible types of punishment that can be used effectively by parents and teachers to constitute a good manner for children. Ċ In the first place, being able to classify what is right or wrong at such young age is of paramount importance for children. Naturally, children when becoming old enough to be conscious of what they observe around will likely to mimic those, no matter they are positive or negative. Especially nowadays, there are countless sources, displaying unexpurgated information that can lead to inappropriate imitations among children as they are now easily accessible to those due to the advancement of social media. Therefore, adults need to aid them in distinguishing the good and the bad. To this end, imposing punishments on children whenever they do or copy anything morally wrong are advisable. In this way, children might be well-aware of the fact that if they misbehave again, they will be suffering from these punishments. Ċ Since punishment is crucial in forming the personality of children, the way adults punish must be taken into serious consideration. In this case, constructive and affectionate punishments are probably more fruitful than harsh ones. To provide a supporting example, if a child misbehave and his or her parents inflict a physical punishment by hitting the child with a tool, for instance, then the child’s mentality might be disordered, resulting in depression in the long term, let alone any injuries the child might suffer. In fact, children respond more attentively to kind gestures. For example, if a boy does not do homework, parents can punish him by gently warning him or reducing his playing time during a day by one hour. This will likely make him do his homework next time and, consequently, change his attitude and cultivate self-discipline. Ċ In conclusion, the distinction between the good and the bad is essential, especially among children and punishment is, in my opinion, a good method to make this more attainable. Also, there are many positive ways to shape a proper behaviour for children, making them into civilized adults later on.