Time-Out for Toddlers

Are you facing problems with your toddler? Is the head-banging, kicking and biting getting out of control? The toddlers’ temper tantrums are well known the world over by parents who have gone through this phase. A sweet, cuddly two year old suddenly goes berserk and you wonder where in the world did you go wrong?

Time-out is not a game; it’s not really a punishment, but is a way of dealing with toddlers who misbehave. We need to understand toddlers; basically they are beginning to realize they have feelings and emotions which they can express by kicking and screaming. This can be controlled by firm parents who take immediate steps to stop the behaviour.

Diverting the child’s attention or taking him out of the area generally helps. As slapping and spanking is not recommended by most child protection agencies, that just leaves time-out for managing the tantrum issue.

Time-out is an opportunity for the child to be removed from the scene and cause of the temper tantrum, and put in solitude for a very short while (1-2 mins). The idea behind time-out is for the little one to learn to cope with his frustrations on his own. If you reinforce the behaviour, either positively or negatively, it will cause you lots of problems as the child gets older.

By putting your child in time-out for a short period, you defuse the child’s elevated frustration; he may even forget why he was angry. You accomplish averting the disaster of the tantrum without spanking or any kind of shouting on your part.

Here’s a rough outline of what you need to do to make time-out work.

Step 1 – give the child a warning about the unsatisfactory behaviour. You should be at eye level with your child and have a stern face to show your displeasure.

Step 2 – you need to remain calm and talk to the toddler in a firm voice.

If the incident happens again, then you need to put the child in the designated area for your toddler time-out. General rule of thumb says the child should stay for one minute per year of age. For example, if your toddler is two years then he has to remain for two minutes in the area. If you keep the child there any longer, he will forget the reason behind it.

Before you use time-out treatment, make sure that the child is not throwing a tantrum because of hunger or tiredness.

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