How To Make Timeouts Less Like A Bar Fight


added by JD Rucker on June 28th, 2008

Submitted to Mixx by SlateReader and to Digg by lwlamar 6/27/2008

While I think the teaser headline was better (Go Ahead, Put Baby in a Corner) the general point is made. “Timeouts” were a hot recommended punishment in the 80s and 90s as an effective alternative to striking children, but they have become more of a punchline lately.

TimeoutOne of the problems is their waning effectiveness. It isn’t that the punishment isn’t being used. In fact, it’s being overused, and improperly at that. If you are a parent who uses timeouts for kid control, this article is a great one to check out.

Excessive timeouts do more harm than good, making a child irritable and more volatile in his reactions, and more inclined to escape and avoid the adults who punish him. Just as important, parents who punish excessively tend to escalate punishment, increasing the side effects and losing track of the original intent of giving a timeout, which is to improve a child’s behavior. The opposite happens, in fact.

Original Description:

This one is for all the frustrated parents out there, a gentle reminder that we all need from time to time.

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2 Comments

  1. Can’t argue with it but when I was growing up we didn’t get time outs. Was a quick slap on the butt and it was forgotten.

    Nice article though although more detail would have been nice

    #1 wendy

  2. As a parent of 9 I agree with you. It is not as I wanted to be, giving more time to them, but at least we have survived as a family.

    #2 Teodor M Muntean

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