Super Parents Talk

Time Out: Effective Discipline
by Tammy Pinarbasi

Have you spanked your child? Have you thought about it? Many parents have or will spank their child at some time. If you are one of those parents who has spanked your child, you probably found it made you just as upset as your child and it really didn’t resolve the problem.

Part of your job as a parent is to teach your child, this includes what is proper behavior. Most of the time you are teaching your children by example. As a parent, losing control of your temper and acting out physically may lead to your own child learning that aggression is the proper way to express their anger and frustrations which ultimately is leading to more bad behavior. So you’ve tried reasoning, yelling, threatening, pleading, bribery and anything else you could think of. Sometimes these approaches worked and other times it did not. Did you try a time out? Time outs can work and be an effective form of discipline if implemented correctly. Time out is beneficial to the both of you, giving you and your child a chance to cool down and regroup. 

How to implement time out:

• Make a list of 4 or 5 misbehaviors you feel are important and warrant a time out. You can add to this list, but at first keep the list small so not to overwhelm the child. Read the list with or to your child, explaining the misbehaviors in a way they will understand.
• Choose a location in the home that will be used for time out . This area should be free of distractions such as TV, toys and other children. Do not use areas that are dark, dangerous or that your child is afraid of. Provide a chair or bench for your child to sit on.
• You can use an inexpensive kitchen timer to keep track of your child’s time in the chair. Let your child know what they have done to get sent to time out. 
• Tell the child the time out period will begin when they are sitting quietly in the chair. Tell them how many minutes they will sit there and once they hear the timer bell their time out has ended. Make it clear if they get up before the timer goes off the time will be restarted. 
• Generally the length of the time out is one minute per year of age. But, 5 or 6 minutes is the most you should expect them to be still and quiet.
• Stay consistent. The time out should be used each time they break the rules on the list. Warnings before taking action only teaches the child they can misbehave and push the limit before you will resort to time out.
• When first utilizing time out you should expect a great deal of resistance from your child. It is important to remain calm and follow through with the time out no matter how much the child resists.

Time out can indeed be an effective discipline tool when used consistently and implemented correctly.

This article is written by Tammy Pinarbasi, mother of 3. Tammy Pinarbasi is the owner of Parent Super Site, Super Parents Talk and Recipe Super Source. This article may be reprinted as long as author information remains intact and all hyperlinks remain active in online publications.

Article Source: Parent Super Site Article Directory

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