A recent study on parents who beat their children indicated that physical punishment still occurs far more frequently than previously thought but that physical punishment was ineffective. Given that 73 percent of the children who were hit waited less than 10 minutes before acting out again. So, what is? Many parents deal with their children's mistakes by taking away toys and separating them from their playmates. But for strong-willed kids like I was, none of these methods were effective. Like many kids, I wasn't bad; I was bored. Fortunately, my father realized this fairly early on and developed a new form of "discipline" that produced immediate results and long-term positive effects. Looking back as an adult, my father's method of making me read the encyclopedia  whenever I did something wrong was the best thing he could have done. He would tell me a topic and say, "Learn about the aardvark and I'm going to quiz you shortly after." It was punishment in the sense that I was forced to stop whatever I was doing, but it also had a purpose in that it kept my mind occupied and presented the type of mental challenge I clearly lacked. Although unwillingly, I went to learn  ly everything there was to know about aardvarks because I was going to figure out every question he could throw at me. If it weren't for my driving need to prove him wrong, it may not have worked as well as it did. So that's just it: It was effective. It helped me change my behavior in that moment and it conditioned me to seek out books when I was bored. Obviously, that happened frequently and apparently and it worked. I grew up to become a successful lawyer and a famous writer as well.  To this day, Dad's the only one who can beat me. What was the author's father method of punishing him for his mistakes?
His father angrily took away his favourite toys. His father separated him from his playmates. His father forced him to do some reading and tested him later. His father ordered him to learn about the aardvark and quizzed him shortly after.