How Do Great Parents…Implement Time Outs | CALM - Child Abuse Listening Mediation

(material provided by The Incredible Years, Carolyn Webster-Stratton, Ph.D.)

Be polite.
Be prepared for testing.
Monitor anger in order to avoid exploding suddenly; give warnings.
Give 5-minute Time Outs with 2 minutes of silence at the end.
Carefully limit the number of behaviors for which Time Out is used and use consistently.
Use Time Out consistently for chosen behaviors.
Don’t threaten Time Out unless you’re prepared to follow through.
Ignore child while in Time Out.
Use nonviolent approaches such as loss of privileges as a back-up to Time Out.
Follow through with completing Time Out.
Hold children responsible for cleaning messes in Time Out.
Support a partner’s use of Time Out.
Don’t rely exclusively on Time Out — combine with other discipline techniques, such as logical consequences and problem solving.
Expect repeated learning trials.
Build up bank account with praise, love, and support.
Use personal Time Out to relax and refuel energy.
Use Time Out for destructive behaviors and times when you’re child’ misbehavior cannot be ignored. Start by choosing just one behavior to work on. When that behavior is no longer a problem, choose another behavior to work on.
Give immediate Time Out for hitting and destructive acts. However, for noncompliance, one warning may be given.
Ignore inappropriate behaviors, such as screaming, whining, teasing, arguing, swearing, and tantrums.
Praise positive behavior as often as possible.

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