Pros and cons of writing phrases like “punishment”
Have you ever told your children that they had to write a sentence as a punishment for misbehaving? Discover the pros and cons of this practice.
A practice that was done in schools in the past and that is still practiced today in some classrooms, is for children to write phrases such as “punishment” for bad behavior. Is this measure really effective or is it worthless? In reality, any “punishment” is counterproductive since it is an imposition of the adult that only causes resentment to the minor.
Instead, the consequences of a behavior will have a greater emotional impact on the child . Children will be able to choose whether to have a good or bad behavior and then abide by the consequences that they know in advance, that they will have after having a bad behavior.
Index
TARGET OF CONSEQUENCES OR PUNISHMENTS
The goal of a punishment or consequence is to provide a learning lesson about behavior and consequences, and for the punishment to be successful, the type of punishment you choose must be appropriate for the offense. Sometimes writing-based punishments can do more harm than good to a child’s or student’s behavior.
You need to consider the pros and cons of writing sentences as a consequence or punishment, and if you choose to issue this type of punishment or consequences, you will need to ensure that the writing experience is constructive and beneficial to your child or the student in some way. .
PROS
Some aspects of writing-based penalties or consequences can be beneficial to your child or a student . Sentence writing exercises promote fine motor skills and provide practice with spelling and handwriting.
When a parent makes a child sit in a quiet area and write for punishment or conscientiousness, their concentration and attention are engaged in a way that can avoid angry outbursts, tantrums, and other misbehaviors that result from boredom or restlessness during unstructured rest times.
CONS
If writing penalties are not structured properly or are used repeatedly, they can send and reinforce negative messages about writing . Your child or student may begin to associate writing with punishment, which can hamper their motivation and enthusiasm for school writing.
You can also stop seeing writing as a form of expressive and liberating communication and instead see writing as a “work” unsatisfactory . Children who repeatedly write sentences are not learning to develop their written language, but are simply copying letters and words for a nonsensical writing goal.
It includes the construction and expression of ideas through words, and they are doing so reluctantly, which can reinforce their reluctance to write for other purposes. Lastly, trying to reinforce good behavior , by having your child write: “I will remember to put my toys away when I finish playing”, for example, is simply ineffective and will be useless … this will not improve his behavior in the future .
RIGHT IDEAS
If you decide to impose this punishment or consequences based on writing, you will need to structure the writing activity to provide a written purpose, personal expression, and choice for your child . Instead of asking him to write a fixed number of sentences or a specific number of words, provide him with a list of relevant topics to choose from. You will want to make sure that the topics reflect misconduct, but also encourage personal reflection and expression. For example, “How could I have handled my anger better? “or” How would I feel if someone broke my toy? “Look at the content of the writing when determining what is sufficient rather than the length of the pages, the quality of the grammar or the number of words: the writing must be thoughtful, expressive and descriptive.
You can also consider other forms of more effective consequences instead of writing exercises. Loss of privileges is one way to deter bad behavior. Another idea is to impose a restitution consequence, which encourages children to take responsibility for wrongdoing and rectify mistakes by fixing or replacing broken or damaged items.
Dr. Tabriella Perivolaris, Sara's mother and fan of fashion, beauty, motherhood, among others, about the female universe. Since 2018 she has been working as a copywriter, always bringing to her articles a little of her experience and experience as a mother and woman.