II. Indication
- Time-Out: Discipline for ages 18 months to 6 years
- Examples
- Temper tantrum
- Whining
- Yelling
- Fighting
III. Background
- Time-Out relies on good child-parent relationship
- Time-in must be valuable for Time-Out to work
- Parent must be attentive when behavior is normal
- Child notices when attention is withdrawn
IV. Technique
- Child instructed to go to pre-assigned Time-Out place
- Example: Sit in chair (away from TV, games, toys)
- Child must be removed from problem situation
- Environment must be boring and safe
- Child stays in Time-Out for specified length of time
- One minute of Time-Out per year of age
- Set a timer for specified length of time
- Timer restarted if child leaves prematurely
-
General pointers
- No interaction during Time-Out
- Do not respond to bargaining for early Time-Out end
- Do not verbally reprimand child during Time-Out
- Child should be calm for at least last 15 seconds
- Modifications for age
- Preschool: Child ignored or attention removed
- Older child: Remove privilege for one day (e.g. TV)
V. Complications
- Initially child acts out more (e.g. temper tantrum)
- Do not reinforce this (do not respond)
- Calmly place child back in Time-Out
- Time-Out not effective initially (common problem)
- Behavior changes may take some time to develop
- Time-Out is very effective as a long-term strategy
VI. References
- Wyckoff (1984) Discipline without Shouting, p. 8
- Banks (2002) Am Fam Physician 66(8):1447-52 [PubMed]
- Stein (1998) Pediatrics 101(4 Pt 1):723-8 [PubMed]