1,127. Punishing a Child

165:6 If a child stole something and the object still exists, we make him return it. If the object no longer exists, the child is exempt from human penalty, even after he grows up. Nevertheless, in order to fulfill his moral obligation, he must repay what he stole when he grows up. Similarly, if he violated other sins when he was young, when he reaches the age of understanding, he should take on some form of repentance as per Proverbs 19:2, "for the soul to be without knowledge is not good" (i.e., bad things done without understanding are nevertheless bad).

165:7 One should not threaten a child with punishment at some later time; if one saw him do something wrong, one should punish him right away or not at all. There was an incident in which a child skipped school and his father scared him with threats of punishment so the child committed suicide. The Sages said (Sanhedrin 107b), "a person's natural inclinations, a child, and a woman should be pushed away with his left hand and drawn close with his right" (i.e., one should exercise moderation). One should not cause a child to be afraid of non-kosher animals.