Punishment is Revenge

When you stop and reflect about punishment, you will conclude that much of punishment is revenge.

The child being punished interprets it as “I’m getting back at you for doing what you did—or did not do.”

When imposed on young people, punishment is on the opposite side of the same coin as rewards used as bribes. This type of rewards asks, “What will I get if I do it?” and punishments state, “This is what will happen to you if you don’t.”

Punishment for adults who commit a crime is justified to keep criminals away from society, or for retribution, or for justice.

If you think that a youth is an adult, then you will use punishment because you believe it is necessary to harm a child to learn—to hurt a child to instruct.

I don’t think that an eight (8) year old is an eighteen (18) year old. Since I want to prevent youth from being incarcerated and would like them to become responsible and contributing members to society, I do not impose punishment. There is a better way described in the Raise Responsibility System.

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