(STLMoms) -A recently published article in Time Magazine said that using time outs in your home as a way to discipline your children, may not be a good idea. Pediatrician, Dr. Kathleen Bercherlmannn with St. Louis Children’s Hospital, talked with us Monday morning about the dos and don’ts of time outs.
A primary concern of the article in Time Magazine is that a time out leaves a child feeling isolated and distressed and instead parents should focus on building a loving relationship and comforting their child.
They instead propose that parents should use ‘time in’ when a child misbehaves, which is when a parent sits with a child while talking or comforting them until they calm down.
WHAT ARE SOME DO AND DON’TS OF TIME OUTS?
- Determine which behaviors are ‘timeoutable’
- Chose a specific spot for time outs to take place
- Practice how to do a time out before you actually use it
- Give the time out immediately following the misbehavior
- Set an expectation for your child to calm before leaving time out
- Keep yourself calm
- Remove all types of reinforcement
- Be consistent and follow through
- Follow up after the time out to praise your child for calming and to teach a more appropriate alternative behavior
Visit St. Louis Children’s Hospital’s Children’s MD website for more tips and info for moms.
