Time Out"
What is a Time Out?
Time-out has traditionally been used as a technique used to decrease undesirable behaviors by removing positive reinforcement (rewarding experiences). During a time-out the child is removed from the “fun stuff” of life, for a small amount of time, immediately following misbehavior.
A time-out is better than many other consequences.
- Eliminates a lot of yelling and screaming,
- Creates space between the upset feelings and the hurtful reaction of both child and adult
- Allows the child and adult time to cool off
A time-out encourages the child to take responsibility for undesired behaviors. The child learns to discriminate between behaviors that acceptable and behaviors that are unacceptable.
A time-out can help a child learn more self-control.
Some things to think about when using a time out can include:
- Where should the time-out area be located?
- How long should time-out last?
- How to use a time-out?
Time-out can also be a great opportunity for a child to learn emotional regulation. Emotional regulation is a child’s ability to calm down once they are anxious and/or angry.
Some children become anxious or angry easier than others. Sometimes this difference is because of genetic programming or temperament and other times there are things going on in their environment such as changes at home or new skills being learned.
Either way, children who are easily made anxious and angry need a place where they can learn how to calm themselves down.
Time-out can be a place where we go to feel better again and reorganize our thoughts and feelings toward learning and problem-solving.
For more information and additional training on emotional regulation and/or steps in taking a time out…
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