Punishing children without recess: yes or no?

Punishment is part of education for a long time. It is an educational technique that is used for the purpose of eliminating or correcting an annoying or inappropriate behavior. The punishment is practiced normally and we see it quite often in our society. This may be because it is an apparently effe

Punishment is part of education for a long time. It is an educational technique that is used for the purpose of eliminating or correcting an annoying or inappropriate behavior. The punishment is practiced normally and we see it quite often in our society.

This may be because it is an apparently effective and immediate tool that acts against improper behavior. Or because those who are parents today were educated like that and by natural logic they educate as they did with them. One of the most common punishments at school is to deprive the child of recess, but is it correct or not?

The benefits of recess for children

The reasons why the punishments are used are very different, so much so that the child can often live them as unjust. So it can cause negative consequences in children and its character is not very educational. One of the most commonly used punishments is the withdrawal of reinforcers or positive stimuli. That is, prohibit things that the child likes, such as enjoying recess.

The benefits of recess in a child can be emotional, social, physical and cognitive. When the child enjoys recess, it helps him to let off steam and release the tensions that cause his attention to diminish due to the accumulation of many hours in the classroom. In addition, through the games they perform in the playground they can learn methods to manage stress. Likewise, it is a moment that serves the child for his socialization.

It is a space where the child learns to share, cooperate, communicate, solve problems and conflicts. It is also a place where you exercise and potentially fight against inactivity by significantly reducing health risks. All the activities that he carries out involve exploration, which will make him use all kinds of cognitive tools to solve problems, speak or create.

What can be done to not punish the child without recess

It is known that depriving someone of punishment is often the easiest solution teachers find to avoid unwanted behavior, but using this technique does not teach alternative behaviors to the child behavior. It only generates more discomfort and frustration.

As an alternative to punishment, teachers should think about long-term strategies. That is, take more time to think about the reason for the bad behavior in the child to obtain better results in the future. Families from home and teachers from school should:

- Take into account the emotions within education.

- Educate in values ​​and maintain them.

- Educate empathy, teach how to put oneself in someone else's shoes.

- Teach respect differences.

Educating without punishment is difficult but necessary.