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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Timeout - yay or nay?!

Recently I read the following articles regarding time-out:


My son is 22 months (almost 23 months!) and so far I haven't implemented any kind of formal discipline policy with him.  I am very on top of positive reinforcement in terms of "good job buddy", hugs, head pats, smiles & eye contact when he does something that pleases me or follows direction.  As much as I hate to admit it, sometimes in the heat of the moment I do spank him (never very hard - he mostly just looks at me like "what was that for?") - usually this occurs when he does something he's been told "no" on several times before, he's endangering his physical safety (i.e. running into the street) or he's made a huge mess (spilled shampoo all over the floor).  Usually afterwards, I immediately feel guilty, hug him and explain "no hunny, shampoo stays in the bottle, it doesn't go on the floor" or something like that.

After reading these articles, I think I'm going to give time-out a try.  If you have any suggestions about how to introduce time-out, please let me know.  Obviously since he's only almost 2, it will be a very short timeout, but I'm hoping that over time these time outs will reinforce positive behavior.  I'll keep you updated on how it's going and I hope these resources help you as well.  Do you have any tips on how to reinforce positive behavior and discourage negative behavior?


4 comments:

  1. oh gosh girl...I have 7 children and I am having difficulty getting them to listen. The older ones get "grounded" from games and outside and the younger ones get a timeout. Nothing really seems to work lol, actually only dad works...but I am a stay at home mom and dad isnt always here...so I am just stuck. I will be reading those articles you posted above though. Sorry I don't have any tips.

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  2. Wow... what a hard thing. First of all, I think each parent and child is different. I can send my daughter to time out non-stop and she doesn't care, yet I send my son and all is lost and he just breaks down, lol... I say give it a try and see what works best for you. We have started doing reward charts - so when they start screaming I remind them - "remember, if you do well today with no fits, you will get a sticker tonight and if you go all week, you get a surprise!" and that helps... Good luck

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  3. It's hard. I'm great at giving time outs to my niece and nephew, but not so much with my own. Consistency and follow-through is key. If you threaten a time out, mean it. Anyway, good luck!

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  4. I've heard a minute for each year is perfect. I used to give time-outs to the two older boys, years ago and that was the system I used.

    With the two younger children, I didn't use them, I'm not sure why, there was no deliberate reason not to. :)

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