Punishing children: right or wrong?

At one time punishments were the order of the day, both at home and at school, and ranged from skipping the interval to the classic "in bed without dinner" up to unspeakable cases, for which nuns-teachers would put oranges in the mouth to the children just to make them shut up and humiliate them.

Considering punishment today as something effective from an educational point of view is increasingly a debated issue, on the one hand because psychologists and experts invite us to work more on the verbal side, on the other hand because we prefer to adopt less drastic solutions and go to work on the capacity for self - discipline and self-control rather than on the sense of frustration .

Without even bothering to support the laxity of certain parents, let us try to maintain the right central path. And the Eastern philosophies and practices once again come to our aid, here's how.

Mindfulness to grow

The child needs stakes, to know that there are limits that he cannot cross, sometimes he himself asks them, to desire them. Parallel to the parents a difficult path that requires considerable efforts to educate a child, a path that will allow him to grow and train as an individual.

Between teachers and teachers, the school is, in addition to the family, a fundamental place of growth. Here, you may find yourself dealing with unruly or conduct-prone students. Now what to do to "punish" the boy? The history of skipping the interval or returning to do more hours of lessons now seems outdated. This is suggested by a school in Baltimore, which has decided to replace these disciplinary measures with hours of yoga and meditation .

As Upworthy.com reveals, the results of meditating to live school harmoniously have been amazing .

It is no coincidence that today, in Italy, courses or masters are increasingly being developed for psychologists and sector professionals focused on mindfulness, understood here as a discipline of meditation applied to everyday life and which teaches the transmission of meditation itself.

Here, in this regard, we would like to point out an English school, MISP (Mindfulness in schools project), a good reference point for transmitting meditation in schools .

Meditate against violence

As the Dalai Lam stated in " If every 8-year-old was taught meditation, we would be able to eliminate the violence in the world within a generation ."

The art of meditating is something that everyone can put into practice . All that is needed is a small quiet space (the hall of punishment can be transformed into a new yoga room), comfortable clothing, a mat and, to complete the work, a personal meditation cover.

Many research and studies have shown that mediating is good, not only for the soul, but also for the brain. One study in particular has seen that transcendental meditation is also positive for children, as it is able to improve performance, concentration and intelligence, creativity and memory, while reducing anxiety, stress and sleepiness.

We have also seen an increase in confidence in one's abilities, an improvement in physical and social level, or in terms of behavior and interaction with other students.