time outs?

Martha - posted on 03/07/2010

when my daughter was this age, she had to take a pillow off the couch and sit in the corner. Then after her 1-2 minutes was us, we would talk to her about why she ws put there. For my son, he does not want the pillow but we follow the same process. My day-care provider has the kids stand with their noses in the corner. They hate that. The rule of thumb though is no more than 1 minute per year of age, after that they do not get anything out of it, or forget why they are there. When you talk to them just also make sure they understand why they were put in a time out and that the behavior is unaccepable. Be consistant each and every time.

Gayle - posted on 03/06/2010

i find with my grandson whos 28 months that spanking him does not work or putting him in a corner or time out because he doesnt know what hes being punished for! he knows what hes doing is wrong though because he feels like hes not getting any attention so he does what is bad sao you stop to yell or change his focus to something else! when you have a two yr old you have no time to your self at all . only when they sleep and than your so exhuasted that you also fallasleep. lol

Crystal - posted on 03/04/2010

I think timeouts work for the little things, like not listening when we ask our kids to do something, or to stop doing something. Our 2 yr old does pretty well with timeouts. She stays in the corner for her 2 minutes (1 min for each year of her age -- per Supernanny. :)) but often we have to remind her to stay facing the corner. But, as for a punishment for the things you're describing, like the hitting you or the cat or throwing things at you ... i have a difference of opinion on what I do for my kids... not just timeouts here. they get a swat on the butt, get told in a very stern tone of voice that It's NOT ok to hit mommy/daddy/animals nor to throw things at us.... and then they go to timeout. I think it definitely shows them the severity of what they did, as opposed to just always sending them to timeout for everything.

In MY experience (with my son and so far with my 2 yr old), this is definitely the age where they start to push your buttons and test the boundaries to see what they can get away with, and it's up to us to put a stop to it, otherwise you will be dealing with the "terrible twos." We can't be afraid to let them know who's in charge.

Good Luck! :)

Jessica - posted on 02/25/2010

we just started time outs and they work deffently we did have a hard time teaching her that time outs means dont move and to say in that spot i bought a rug and a timer to help with that i would put her on the rug and tell her when to chicken clucks you can get up now i just have to set the timer and tell her to go to her rug and she goes but i think that for our childrens age no more than 4 mins because they forget why they are there good luck

Marie - posted on 02/24/2010

It is definitely not too young for timeouts! Our DD started getting timeouts at about 15 months old - because she would absolutely not leave things alone when told to - and then would throw an enormous fit.. Our 'terrible twos' came very early. However - with a child this young it is difficult to do the traditional timeout of sitting in a chair or corner for how many minutes...it just makes things worse. What we did was set up a babygated area without her toys and she had to go in there and stay in there until she calmed down - then she could ask to come back out. Until she calmed down I would tell her what she did to get in there - or sometimes if she was being overly dramatic I would just go downstairs for a minute or sit at my desk with my back turned to her - and when the whimpers quieted I would begin to talk to her. I also used her crib for timeouts sometimes - but not always. As she has gotten older she can get out of the babygate but not the crib yet -- now the term is 'Do you want to go to BED?, then stop (whatever she is doing), you know that is not nice/good/safe etc.

Also don't overkill on timeouts.. they aren't necessary for every tantrum or naughty thing - but if they don't listen to your first warning or blow up emotionally at even the thought of NO then... well... it's timeout. Hope that helps some. Our LO is still a drama queen and still throws an occasional tantrum - she gets a timeout maybe once a day now (which usually turns into a nap, because she misbehaves more when she is cranky).

Roisin - posted on 02/21/2010

I have been trying time outs on my daughter who is two and she thinks they are funny. I cannot get her to take it seriously. She also too does not stay in the taime out spot and I have to chase her around a few times to get her back there and it usually ends up in a scream season. I would also love any advise anyone has.

Kial - posted on 02/17/2010

i too have a 28 month old daughter who always tries to push the boundries. i think time outs are fine; but it takes alot of patience so if your willing to keep putting them on the same spot until they listen and stay for the desired time then by all means keep at it love. only time will tell. it has worked wonders for me. my daughter knows now that time out is a punishment. at first she would run away but i would just have to keep putting her on the spot and eventually she learnt to stay and do her time. i hope this helps. all the best.