Top Ten Time-Out Tips for Parents

I know from personal experience that the toddler years can be very frustrating, but using the time-out method can be the most frustrating challenge of all. Here are a few helpful tips that helped me achieve time-out success.

1. Establish a time-out spot in your house. Make the area in a place where you can keep an eye on your little one but make sure they can't see the television. I like to designate a time-out chair that is used for time-out and nothing else.

2. Explain the area to your child. Even if you feel like your child is to young to understand what you are talking about explain it anyway it will eventually sink in.

3. When you child does something bad give them a warning but only 1. Tell him/her that if they offend again then they will be put into time-out. After they have had their first warning and they offend again move them immediately into time-out.

4. Chances are your child will not sit in time-out the first few times, when they get up move them immediately back into the chair. Warning! This could go on for a while depending on how strong willed your child is. Expect screaming and fit throwing, this is their way of manipulating you and if you give in the fit will only be worse the next time.

5. When you get your child to sit quietly let them sit about 1 minute for every year of age. In my opinion this rule can be bent a little for young children. For example if your child is 2 and they have sat in time-out for 1 minute 30 seconds and they are starting to squirm, I feel its OK to let them up in order to have a successful time-out.

6. After time-out is over get down on your child's level, look them in the eye and calmly explain to them why they were put in time-out. I like to have my daughter apologize to either me or the person she disobeyed or hurt, after the apology we kiss and hug and that is the end of it. I look at it this way, after my child has served time for a punishment we don't bring it up again so that she doesn't feel like she's still being punished.