"Time Out" for Discipline By Grandma Jeddah

          There are many succesful ways of encouraging your child to obey without hitting him.  One effective discipline method is “Time-Out”. When your child is misbehaving, send him to his room.  If you have other children in the home and they share a room with your misbehaving child, make sure he spends his time-out alone.  You want a room where he can be unaccompanied and not have interaction with others.  Although it’s preferable to have a permanent room that is used for time-outs, any room in the house that is not occupied will suffice. Even a spot on the couch, in a corner or in the hallway can be used.  Select a location that is reasonable for your home setting.    This is as long as there is no concern he will cause harm to himself.  A general exception to any room in the house would be the bathroom and kitchen.  The kitchen has fire and hot items which could be dangerous and the bathroom is generally an unclean place.

Keep in mind that ADHD/ADD children may need a room rather than simply sitting in one spot for their time-out period.  Their inability to remain still for an extensive period may lead you to unnecessarily enforce further sanctions due to their failure to be able to sit still for the duration. For older kids around 10 to 13 years of age, time-out can be waiting outside of the house.  This is used with extremely unruly children who are expressing defiance and showing their complete disregard to your 1-2-3 counting or stars off. 

 Be sure not to react emotionally when directing your child to go outside.  Give your child his warning of stopping the extreme behavior by the time you count to 3 or he’ll have to wait outside for 10 minutes. Outside time-outs are useful during periods when your child appears to be going through an “out of control” moment.  This works well with ADHD and strong-willed children.  Make sure his friends aren’t around before you send him out. Leaving the house can have a strong impact because your child is completely removed from participation in the home. It’s as if he’s an outcast.

With a little patience in the beginning, time-out can be a valuable discipline device. 

This is an excerpt from Grandma Jeddah’s e-Book: Discipline without Disrespecting: Discover the Hidden Secrets of How to Effectively Discipline Your Muslim Child—And Keep Your Peace of Mind While at It.  To order her e-Book or receive her free newsletter, visit her at http://www.grandmajeddah.com/

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