Most of us will agree that it is OK to punish children when they don't live up to our expectations; expectations being those things we absolutely expect our children to do. Where we probably disagree is on what we mean by punishment. For example, I expect my son to always be truthful with his parents. Therefore, when I catch him lying to me I feel there must be some consequence. In addition, I expect my son to do well in school, and not doing well in school does have consequences.
The trick to all of this is in how we, parents, administer this God given authority over our children. If you punish a child and they end up hating you for it, you have failed as a parent. If you punish a child and they end up loving you for it, you are a success. Sometimes a simple word can make a world of difference in how a child looks at your actions. Restriction is one of these words. It just does not sound very good. How can a child love you for putting them on restriction? It just doesn't work.
Over the years I have developed a technique that turns a restriction into a positive loving experience. When my son isn't getting his job done, I simply "Take him out of circulation" so that he can have more time to learn how to live up to my expectations. Now, doesn't that sound a whole lot better. I can tell you that the results speak for themselves. Although my son doesn't like being out of circulation, he never seems to associate this action with me being a bad person. Sometimes I even think he is proud of me for doing it. And if that isn't convincing enough, listen to this. Recently, my son came to me and suggested I take him out of circulation for a while because he was not getting along with his friends. Can you beat that!