I suppose there are always exceptions to the rule, for instance when Aaron was three and we first got the cookstove in the kitchen, he was trained to walk on the far side of the island in the center so as to not be tempted to put his hand on the side. He didn't have to be burned in order to learn. We could simply tell him it was hot and to not touch, the implications were known from that. Benji on the other hand didn't understand 'hot' until he put his hand on it and was burned. There was no need to train him to walk on the other side of island. He knows he can walk on either side, but has learned from experience that a foot or more is a good distance to remain from it.

I don't know which rule is better and if each child is a case by case scenario. Perhaps there will come a child who isn't bothered by the heat and the only way we could keep him away from it is to simply explain there are certain things that just aren't beneficial, no matter how little or largely they affect us in the immediate.