What do you think of using exercise as punishment?

JoRocka

I grew up doing push ups for having my elbows on the table.
By high school yes- fitness was a form of punishment- but typically in a venue where doing things physical was a requirement- i.e. soccer- cross country foot ball etc.
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I think it depends how and where it's used.

Nothing ever truly serious was disciplined with fitness- it was minor infractions- and my dad made it a point to include fun fitness things- like we had a back yard shooting range- we would shoot- run to the stalls- clean a stall- do 10 pull ups- run up the mountain- then back down - and do more shooting. Prepping your system to handle firing under heavy breathing and strain.

so I think it's all situation/circumstantial.

You can't take a completely inactive child who only plays video games and say - go run a mile as punishment for not taking out the trash- it's not going to have the same impact/affect as doing the same thing to a kid who is on the athlete track.

h7463

IMHO....and with some experience on the receiving end...

'Punishment' should be up to the parents, and if some parents would actually do their job, some children wouldn't be out of line as much in the first place. Teachers can always do their job and give grades accordingly. About tired of this 'no child left behind' nonsense....

In sports, competitive children shouldn't have a problem with 'penalty laps', as long as everybody has do do them for the same reasons, and none of the children is singled out.

If children are not passionate about an extracurricular activity, and you didn't have to pay for the class, find something better to do for them. Just because 'everybody else does it' or 'dad always has' doesn't mean it's right for them.
Honestly...running as punisment for being late for band practice...? LOL..Imagine.... Who would want to listen to them play after this, anyway...
I'd be more concerned about why my child had to be late in the first place. Adjust the schedule, or remove the distraction, this would be my suggestion. If internet or texting has anything to do with it, unplug. There's your punishment...lol

Just my opinion... Happy parenting!

KameHameHaaaa

When I was young my mom went through this phase where if I was being unruly at home she'd call my martial arts instructor and tell him. So I'd get to class and he'd announce to everyone that I was having home troubles and would make me spend the first part of class in the push up position. This was horrible for me because 1) Shaming me in front of classmates 2) Making me skip the part of class where we do stretches. I feel like some of my injuries could've been prevented had I done the warming up I was supposed to instead 3) Took a major toll on my self esteem and made me view exercise as something horrible and un-fun. I eventually quit going after 11 years, hated exercise and gained 190 lbs.

kjarvo

I don't think using exercise as punishment is a bad thing. They see the act of punishment as punishment, not the exercise. It could be sitting in a corner, reading a book by themselves, doing pressups etc.. I think it's the act of punishment that's effective, isolating the child and making the do SOMETHING, not letting them do what they want. I remember in high school in PE being punished for something (trainee teacher) I didn't do and I was taken away from something that required more energy and told to jog round the school field, I walked it all VERY slowly to make a point. I exerted less energy than I would have but I was more annoyed with being 'punished'. Just my opinion, but someone with more experience might know more/better.

lorib642

Thanks everyone. It does seem like the context and how it is used is the main issue.