Eh. Punishment is detrimental to learning in general and compliance in praticular, with all children, but it's a particularly poor decisionn with a child that young.
A three year old can't be expected to understand responsible behavior yet. He behaved in a completely predictable way, exploring an unfamiliar object with similarities to ones he's probably used to being safe (chairs). Judging by your narrative I'd say his parents weren't paying enough attention either time to stop that, then were embarrassed by that and angry about it; the explanation you've recorded, plus threats to later plans, would definitely have come off as angry and threatening to a young child, and that results in poor learning.
ETA: Obviously it isn't pleasant to suddenly have a young child grabbing things that are dangerous for both of you, I'm just a little surprised that everyone is shocked by it. It's normal toddler behavior.
no subject
A three year old can't be expected to understand responsible behavior yet. He behaved in a completely predictable way, exploring an unfamiliar object with similarities to ones he's probably used to being safe (chairs). Judging by your narrative I'd say his parents weren't paying enough attention either time to stop that, then were embarrassed by that and angry about it; the explanation you've recorded, plus threats to later plans, would definitely have come off as angry and threatening to a young child, and that results in poor learning.
ETA: Obviously it isn't pleasant to suddenly have a young child grabbing things that are dangerous for both of you, I'm just a little surprised that everyone is shocked by it. It's normal toddler behavior.