Tēlpochcalli ([teːɬpot͡ʃˈkalːi], Nahuatl: house of the young men), were centers where Aztec youth were educated, from age 15, to serve their community and for war.
It was very important that within the family that children learn in the generation of the universe, carried out by the supreme gods, the male and female energies had been joined to enforce the creation of life.
From the age of three or four years, infants were to perform simple tasks with great restraint and obedience; as the years passed the work became more complex and with heavier tasks; that is how sons learned the crafts of their fathers, while girls learned the duties of their mothers, like cleaning the house, preparing food, spinning clothing for the family, etc.
Initially, children who rebelled were threatened with spanking, which became effective when they showed further disobedience; later, if young boys displayed negative attitudes, parents applied painful punctures with maguey thorns, or they would semi-asphyxyate them with the smoke from burning chillies (preparing them incidentally, for future practices of self-sacrifice)[citation needed].
On the other hand, young ladies who showed negative attitudes, such as flirting and taste for gossip, were forced to sweep at night out of the house, which was seen as worse than a beating[citation needed].