I agree completely. This is why I think forcing high school students to complete community service as a graduation requirement is a terrible idea.

Those teens are probably dumb in general. As with anything else in life, some children will get it and some will not.

A smart parent will make volunteering a positive teaching moment rather than yelling at the child and telling the child that volunteering is only being done to make the child's life a living hell. It has been done.

The punishment may not fit the crime but at least he is doing something.

The existence of punishment is a big deterrent for behavior. But the details of the punishment tend to shape how seriously both the act and the punishment are taken. :) That applies to corporal punishment and other forms of punishment for children.

But that something may be teaching son a different lesson from the one dad wants to teach him.