A topic that concerns many people is how to teach children the difference between good and bad behaviour. Some people believe that an appropriate way is to use punishment to help them learn this distinction. In this essay I will argue my position about this topic, punishment is not an effective method for teaching children how to act, and other strategies focused on their acknowledgement could be more meaningful for their development.
Punishment as a teaching strategy could create bad self-esteem in children. In my opinion, what punishment does is reinforce the negativity of an action without giving space to understand what was wrong. A child who is constantly exposed to this idea, could develop a negative self-image, seeing himself as a “bad person”. If this practice persists for a long period, it could lead to low self-esteem, and future mental health issues.
A good strategy that parents and teachers could use to teach about good acts, is to keep the focus on developing empathy and congratulate the good actions. The tutors, as adults with more highly developed emotional tools, should be able to give guidelines to children. For example, they should explain how actions affect others, and help children understand what is right and wrong. Furthermore, developing good communication with them, and giving them space to express their emotions and ideas, might help children to connect with other’s people emotions and feelings. Likewise, cheering them on for good behaviour will be more meaningful to them, and will help them develop a better understanding of appropriate conduct.
In conclusion, I truly believe the best approach to teach children the distinction between right and wrong is to highlight positive actions and treat them with kindness. These positive actions will help them to have a positive self- image and develop good behaviour towards others.