Teaching Time-Outs

Training your child the process of a time-out can be crucial to its successful use.  One can't expect a child to know how to do a time-out properly without a review of the process.  Here are a few steps that will help you to explain and discuss a time-out with your child.

1.  Ask your child:

• What is a time-out?

• Why do children have to take time-outs?

• How do you take a time out?

2.  Show them by role-playing how to take a time out.  Show

them how to go to the time-out area and sit or stand quietly.

3.  Allow them to review and model how to take a time out.

4.  Also show them the wrong way (being noisy, complaining, continually asking to get up) to take a time out, and then finalize by going back to the appropriate model of a time-out.

5.  Give examples of when a time-out might be necessary and allow the children to act out the proper way to take a time out.

Reference
Bavolek, S., (2007) Nurturing Skills For Families.  Family Development Resources, Inc.