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Time Out Assists for Busy Parents

Have you ever been in this situation? You are at the restaurant or store and your child is throwing the biggest temper tantrum ever or you are at home and you are trying to have your children clean up or help out with some smaller chores and they plain refuse to do so?

If you are a busy parent, you know how hard it can be to keep your children behaving properly and you also know how hard it can be to discipline them. Especially when you have more than one child or your schedule is bursting full, there might be no time for such things as time outs. Or so you think.

Here are some ideas and suggestions for children’s time outs for busy parents.

First of all, when you give your child a time out, always state what the time out is for with one sentence and avoid any further discussions. Children need to know what they are in time out for, but it should not be overwhelming, children should not feel hated.

The best way to have a time out the same and an appropriate length is by using a timer such as a kitchen timer. Make sure to tell your child that he or she has to stay in time out until the timer goes off.

When putting your child into a time out at home it should always be in a designated area if possible. The area should be free of distractions and enjoyable objects. The child needs to feel deprived of fun and desirable activities. While your child is in time out, the parent should not communicate with the child and the child should also not be permitted to make noises. Toys, listening to radios, watching television or banging the furniture on other reachable objects should also not be allowed. If your child violates any of these rules, you should automatically reset your time out timer and start the time out over. During the time your child is in time out you can still do your house chores or other work that will not entertain your child.

Lastly it is very important that everybody in your house knows the rules for time outs. If the child should not talk, enjoy TV or radio it is important that other family members do not violate these regulations by for example turning the TV on in the room the child is taking the time out.

Time outs work well for many children, but they can only work properly when the child does the time out the way required. Know that refusal for time outs is just natural and there are many different ways you can handle this situation. Some ways of ensuring your child is serving the time out work for one child but not for another. If your child is younger, try the “counting to three” method. Tell the child if he is not in time out by three, the time out time will be doubled. If your child causes more trouble due to maybe ADHD, you might try a time out reward program. These rewards might be a sticker for every successful time out and a toy or something special for a certain amount of successful time outs.

For children that just refuse and there is no underlying condition, try removal of objects or activities. For example, if your child is allowed to watch a short TV program or has a favorite toy, tell the child that the favorite toy will not come back until he serves the time out or the child will not be able to watch TV until he does the time out.

If time outs are consistently served, they can be built in even into a busy parent’s schedule. Especially if you have a designated space, sent the child there and do whatever else it is you have to do. Time outs are not wasted time but a good way to discipline your children in times of need. Time outs can also be taken at places other than the house if the child understands the concept of the time out.