When Ryan was 17 months old, I felt that he could handle time outs as a form of discipline. A former elementary school teacher and an avid viewer of Supernanny, I knew that the method worked, and it seemed to be a fair and calm way to remove a child from a bad situation and teach a valuable lesson in the process.
We followed the Naughty Step technique and found that Ryan really responded to it and he still does. It may not be for everyone, but it works for our family.
I went slightly overboard and bought this Time Out Chair from Levels of Discovery but it serves its purpose well. It has a wonderful inscription “Time out to think about the things you do, but always remember I love you” and a timer that you can set (1 minute per year of his/her age). We started out in an apartment where there were no steps and we didn’t want to designate Ryan’s bedroom as a place where he was banished for bad behavior. So the chair sat in the kitchen, away from any toys or distractions, and after Ryan did his time, all was forgiven and forgotten.
If you’re a newbie, check out the links above for ideas from Supernanny. If you have a different technique that works well for your family, please share it with us by commenting. There are plenty of parents here looking for ideas who could use some much-needed help!
