Some would argue that it is essential that children are taught morals from an early age and punishment is the best way to do it. This essay totally agrees with that statement because they will be punished at school and by the authorities when they get older if they break the rules, however, parents should not beat their child and instead should deprive them of something they love.
It is essential that young children get used to punishment because they will be treated in the same way later in life by their teachers and by the police. A lack of discipline at home often leads to delinquency later in life because the person has not been taught that there will be consequences to breaking the rules.Therefore, parents have a responsibility to punish their children so that they will become responsible students and citizens in the future. In my primary school, parents who were very relaxed about discipline often produced the most unruly children and some of them even went on to serve prison terms because they were never taught the difference between good and bad behaviour.
However, punishment should never be violent in any way because it teaches the child that the answer to a problem is to beat someone and this could result in a young person that is prone to violence.A study by Queen’s University concluded that over three quarters of all violent offenders in British prisons experience some kind of physical punishment as children. A better punishment is to take away something the child’s treasures, such as their favourite toy or TV show or stopping them seeing their best friend. This allows the child time to think about what they did and learn from the experience without resorting to physical abuse.
In conclusion, discipline should be instilled from a young age because it will teach the child about what is acceptable and unacceptable later in life, however, this should always be non-violent and the best way to punish a child is to deny them something they have a deep attachment to.