How to Give a Child a Timeout

Video Transcript

" Removing a child from a play area when they are out of control is completely appropriate. Now one thing that we focus on at our center is that we don?t call it time out, time out has a very negative connotation to it. We call it "Taking a break" you want to remove the child so that they can take a break for a second because obviously the situation that they are in is a little too stressful for them. You can give them a book set them down in a chair. Books are very relaxing they are good at drawing their focus on something else so that they are not focusing on what was upsetting them. Just tell them they ought to sit down, calms down, relax read a book until their ready to join their friends. That?s something that is very important that many people forget about time out. If a child sits in time out for too long it becomes punitive and it is used inappropriately their going to sit there too long and they are going to forget what they are there for. Now the key is that the number of minutes that they sit in "time out" is the same as their age. So for instance if you have a three year old they don?t want to sit in time out for any longer than three minutes, after that they start to forget what they are there for they get restless which is only going to leave to a different type of misbehavior. Now you want to take their intensity away, have them cool off it is important that this be used with a positive attitude and approach. Don?t approach them aggressively, just talk to them get down on their level very calmly you know suggest it, I think that maybe you should take a break don?t you feel a little stressed right now, you seem like you are getting angry normally a child is going to agree they are going to say yeah you know your right the key is to let them know that they can stay there until they are ready to come. Sometimes kids will sit their longer than normal. You want them to play without hurting anyone?s feelings without hurting anyone so when they feel that they are ready to do that then they can come back that is what is important about time out, that it is about them, and their ready and trust me they can figure out when their ready."