In today’s world, the idea of punishment has become a contested issue in many forms, depending on the context. In some circumstances, it can be seen as an effective tool for reformation and rehabilitation while in other cases it may be considered a method of injustice and oppression. As such, this essay will discuss a personal situation in which punishment could potentially be used and why or why not this might be appropriate.

Imagine that a child starts to misbehave at home. The child begins to disobey their parents, refuse to clean their room and take part in activities they should not do. When the parent tries reasoning with them, there is no response from the child; instead they continue to ignore any advice given by their parents (Redmond & Taylor-Gibbs 2018).