Rewarding the very good ones could yield the same effects than punishing the bad behaviours, of even have a better impact.

Many people do offend because they don't even have accesses to the opportunity of being rewarded. If they truly felt social mobility is genuine and accessible to everyone they would not resort to breaking the rules and infringe social norms. In that case rewarding the very good ones could yield even better results indeed.

I am very pleased you have that instance towards your children's upbringing. Of course punishment is important for the development of a child. A child will not bloom into being socially functional if they are left to their own devices, or if only their good behaviour is addressed while the naughty one are ignored.

My next post will be about this. As I see a lot of caregivers refraining from saying "no" to the little ones, or avoiding to set limits to their actions altogether. This is not good for the children's self-esteem, resilience and overall future mental health.

Have a most wonderful week @lemouth.
Wish you and the family all the best, always.