(Lighthearted) Were you ever cured of "wrong" behaviour by being made to keep doing it?

[scalt]

Or indeed, used this method with your DCs?

I remember a time (aged 5) that I kept taking my shoes and socks off outdoors, so I was made to walk barefoot for a while. I stubbornly kept quiet, but I never did this again. I remember also some boys at school who laughed when they were told off, so they were then made to laugh in a mirror.

Something about both your examples makes me think it was cruel, whether intended to be or not.

I don't think shame does anything but drive a person underground. Much better to rationally explain why something needs to be done a certain way and perhaps because I believe in freedom and choice, i think people should be allowed to learn by their own mistakes too.

Less damaging than learning through the cruelty of suffering discomfort and shame.

Also, as a 5 year old? Being natural with bare feet is great. You should have been taken to safe places to get that out of your system in green grass, smash beaches and water. I'm sure if you got it out of your system in appropriate weather you wouldn't look so hungrily at it mid-December!

The boy who laughed should have been given opportunities to share the joy and release of laughter in break time and not forced to shame himself with public humiliation like that.

Adults who do these things are either lazy, cruel or need to be better educated.

I wouldn't make them keep doing it, but if the kids are doing something I've told them not to, I'm not doing anything to stop it going wrong for them (within reason). Eg. "don't throw your toys around near the high wall" then if they continue and lose something, I'm not climbing over or replacing the thing (which I would if it was an unexpected accident)