8 Creative Punishments Ideas For High School Students

High schoolers can become a little notorious at times. Since this is the age and time that comes with a lot of distractions, it can become a little difficult to manage these young kids. Teaching them a lesson can also be a little tricky because you want to ensure that they do not take it otherwise and actually get the intent behind being punished. 

So, the best way to go about this is that you add a little creativity and innovation to the punishments. I know, this can sound a little crazy, but believe me, creative punishments can give you better results and can also help you avoid any kind of miscommunication between you and the child/student. 

Going ahead, we shall discuss why as teachers or parents you should use creative punishments to teach children the lessons they should learn, and we shall also see some of the most creative ways in which you can punish them. Read on to know more!

Reasons why you should creatively punish children

Bad behaviors towards teachers and parents are indications that it’s time for actions to ensure discipline is instilled back sooner. Besides, here are the advantages of creative punishments. 

  1. It has everlasting consequences. Creative punishments have the potential to bring a permanent change in the student’s behavior in a good way. 
  1. It offers variety. Anything on repeat can actually become really very boring. If you punish a child in a similar way, then after a point he/she is going to give up one day and the purpose of you punishing them will be lost. Hence, creative punishments offer variety and are also situational, as, they vary depending on the situation. 
  1. It gives faster results. Mostly with a punch of creativity, students are subjected to different situational punishments. These punishments mostly deal with the kind of trouble students land themselves in. Late at the dinner table? Do the dishes. Chatterbox in the class? Teach a class, and so on.  Hence, these situational punishments give faster results. 

Creative ways to deal with the punishable offense of your teens

Following is a list of the top 8 unique and creative punishment ideas for high schoolers.

1. If longer playtime is taking a toll on grades, make them talk to a relative. 

talk to a relative

Sometimes, children can mess up balancing their playtime and study hours. This may lead to adverse effects on studies, thus leading to a downfall in grades. Bad grades can have adverse effects later on such as a decrease in chances of getting into good colleges, not being able to land good job opportunities, and more. If after repeated instructions, students begin to deliberately make the mistake, then give them this creative punishment to bring in order and discipline. 

Let’s all agree that there is always that one relative that the child finds truly annoying. Make your child talk to that relative for 5-10 minutes at random. If necessary, do this time and again so that with every passing minute, the child can understand that every second counts.  

2. Does your child waste food or bring back lunch? Ask your child to cook meals. 

cook meals

Let’s admit that children have a set of favorite dishes, most of which are junk, and a set of dishes they hate, most of which are healthy food. As bad as they may taste, all of us know the importance of a balanced and nutritious diet for children. If the children throw a tantrum about eating healthy food, or if they return their lunch home because it is not tasty enough, then punishing them just in the right way is your way to go. 

On your child’s weekly day off, instruct him or her to prepare a healthy dish. You can ask them to prepare any of the cold lunch dishes of their choice. Alternatively, you can make sure it is a little complex and needs your child’s complete attention while cooking. Assist your child when necessary, but try to let them do most of it. By cooking, your child will realize the amount of time, and effort that it takes to prepare the dish. Needless to say, repeat the punishment on a few weekends, and hopefully, your child will stop wasting food. 

3. Does your student forget to bring books or stationery? Give them more homework. 

more homework

When in school, it is important to carry books and stationery as per the timetable. Sometimes, students forget to carry certain books or stationery, which is understandable. However, there are these little repeated offenders, who always rely on others and practice ‘sharing is caring’ very often. 

To nab these little offenders, punish them by giving them some extra homework on the subjects they do not like. Of course, you will need to coordinate with teachers of different subjects but trust me, this is a great way to ensure the student makes an effort to pack his or her bag according to the timetable every single day!

4. Is your student always late? Extra time after school is the way out!

Extra time after school

Punctuality is one of the greatest skills a student can ever have. Being on time or before time creates a good impression, not just in school, but also in interviews, at offices, and in many more fields. However, there is always that one student in every class, who despite several reminders and heads up, is not punctual, and also turns in every assignment and homework late!

For such lazy bums, punish them by asking them to assist you after school hours. As teachers, you may always be in need of some extra hands to help you with work, so utilize this chance and get your work done. You can further set up rules such as ‘every 5 minutes that you are late, you will have to serve 15 minutes of after-school hour services.’Also, teachers can introduce attendance incentives as a reward for high school students to maintain their high attendance. 

5. Is your child spending money relentlessly? Ask your child to earn their pocket money.

earn pocket money

Financial literacy is very important so that going ahead, these high school students can be responsible with their money. One way to ensure this is to start early. So begin early by teaching the basics of money management to your children. You can also employ paycheck activities to acquaint students with their financial responsibility.

Monitor how they spend their pocket money. If you find them wasting their money or not utilizing it correctly, make them earn the money. You can assign them household chores such as dusting, cleaning, mopping the floor, doing the dishes, and doing laundry. 

6. Is your student not tired of talking? Ask them to teach the class.

teach the class

Chatterboxes are present in every class. They may be the funny guys, but sometimes, talking and interrupting the class and disturbing everyone can really get on one’s nerves. These chatterboxes need a punishment that demands them to talk. It is simple. Ask them to teach the class. But there is a twist. Observe their grades and pick out the subject in which they have not performed that great. 

Assign them a lesson or two and ask them to come prepared. They must teach the class. To make them a little more serious about it, you can tell them that they will be graded for it, and instead of submitting an assignment for the grades, they will have to teach. This punishment is hitting two targets with one stone. The students will improve their performance in the game and also try to curb their habit of talking too much. 

7. Does your child come back with stains on clothes? Doing laundry is the best way to teach him or her a lesson. 

Doing laundry

Some children may have the habit of messing up their clothes or uniforms while eating or playing. This can be allowed once in a blue moon but frequenting it becomes a disturbing practice. Explain the importance of cleanliness to your children. Even then if they fail to understand, they deserve a punishment.

Ask your child to do laundry every alternate day. This is not limited to his or her clothes only, but punishment means a lot of something that is not nice! Pile them up with dirty clothes twice to thrice a week. They will probably curb their practice of messing up their clothes. 

8. Serving food and doing dishes – if they are always late to the dining table for meals

doing dishes

It is a very common scenario wherein you have to call your teenage child time and again to the dinner table because they are either too ignorant or are hooked to the screens. 

The best way to go about this is to ask your child to clean up the dining table and do the dishes for a couple of days or for a week. Cleaning up after dinner and doing the dishes are chores in themselves and take a lot of effort. When your child does this repeatedly for 3-4 days, he or she will realize it is one hell of a task and will stop being late for dinner.

Summing it up!

Every action has a consequence and that is independent of your age. Home and school are just the beginning wherein you are expected to have and maintain discipline. Breaking the rules can have consequences and both the school and the home must have certain boundary conditions and rules that govern the behavior of the children/students. 

The article above has discussed some of the creative ways in which students or children can be punished. The aim is to reduce the occurrence of their mistakes repeatedly. Students/children will also not forget these creative punishments and will think at least twice before repeating their mistakes. These punishments will also ensure that discipline is re-instilled and maintained, and going ahead, students/children become responsible adults in the future.

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