Toddler and Punishment : धर्मं & प्रायश्चित्त

No other species punishes its offspring. They encourage innovations and mistakes as these are the stepping steps on the natural growth process.

Discipline in our culture was never to mold children as a obedient worker of the system but for the self-realization of fellow human being in our child. What is happening now is, in name of discipline, we are making children slaves of the system.

If discipline (यम,नियम and other tenets of Yoga) are introduced at right age, no punishment is needed. Each child is special and has different mental growth. Each one of them become ready for अष्टांग योग (१) यम, २) नियम, ३) आसन, ४) प्राणायाम, ५) प्रत्याहार, ६) धारणा ७) ध्यान ८) समाधि), the ultimate self-discipline. Some children are ready at age 5, some at 7, some at 9 and very few at age 11 (popularly known as YAgnopavit Sanskar). Till then parents and teachers must not interfere with their learning. We can only protect them from self-harm.