Avocado
”Klug, you are forgetting something. This is talking about Hashem instilling fear in grown adults, who should know better, and at that point in their lives if they are transgressing then it is their own decision and choice as educated free thinking adults.”’
No, you just misunderstood where I was going with this.
It was a response to those who said instilling fear is not chinuch, it may work in the short term (read the current moment) but as training, ie chinuch, it is not a tool.
My point was to show that Hashem himself quite clearly states it should be used in order to prevent others from doing that particular misdeed in the future. Pure chinuch.
Should it be applied to chinuch for children?
That’s moving the discussion forward. First I was trying to lay down the ideal.
Once that’s clear we can move on to the application.
As my rabbeyim taught me, first get clear what it says. Whether you like it /agree /or even fully understand it. The first step is get clear exactly what it says. Then prod, ask, clarify, argue. But have a clear starting ground.