"Don’t punish incompetence."
Punishment is an important part of discipline. It is important for children to understand that "no means no". However, it is also important to understand that punishment should only be used when children know that what they are doing is wrong.
When children are young, making mistakes is a natural part of learning and growing. They must be taught which behaviors are appropriate and which are not. Hence, if you are dealing with a child who doesn’t understand that his behavior is unacceptable, correct him and teach him what he should be doing. When possible, have the child practice the correct behavior.
A good example of this is the incident which occurred at a school in the United States. A boy in Kindergarten was suspended for kissing a Kindergarten girl, thereby violating the school’s rules about sexual assault. Clearly, children in Kindergarten are incompetent when it comes to the concept of sexual assault. Punishing them for incompetence makes no sense whatsoever. Instead, the boy should have been taught to behave appropriately.
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