I don’t really know what to do bc if they were my kids then I would spank them but I can’t very well spank others’ kids and even if I had permission, I wouldn’t feel comfortable with it. Are time-outs effective or what is?
Time outs are the best method for disciplining children……..especially if they are not your own. The general rule of thumb is one minute per year of age. Anything more than that is excessive. Put the child somewhere that is clearly not fun……..but never scary. I used to put my kids in a pack n play when they were too little to climb out. You can also make them sit in a chair or just in a spot on the floor where there is no activity or toys. Never put a child in time out in a dark closet or in a dark room or usually never in a room with a door closed. My son goes and sits in the corner for his time outs. We have a couple of corners in our house that are "toy free" and when I tell him to go take a time out, he picks a corner and sits down and faces the wall until I tell him he can get up. He’s 2! This works wonderfully for me. Sometimes he even puts himself in time out when he knows he has misbehaved…….like pushing his sister or something. However, some kids 2 or less do not "get" time outs, so you just have to "redirect" them. If they are doing something inappropriate, say, "Let’s not do that. Why don’t you come play with this toy."………something like that. Never yell or be scary in anyway to a child just be firm.
I’m curious about your question. It seems like you are considering babysitting work. If this is the case, then I wouldn’t do any disciplining without consulting the parents. Ask the parents about their discipline method. Find out if they do timeouts and ask them what their procedure is. The general method is the same, but kids are creatures of habit. You need to know how/where timeouts are administered. If they say they discipline by spanking, then just hope you don’t have any behavior problems, because you don’t want to set yourself up by spanking someone else’s kids………as you said……even with permission……….a bad idea.
#1 by Amy27 on November 12th, 2009
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Time outs are the best method for disciplining children……..especially if they are not your own. The general rule of thumb is one minute per year of age. Anything more than that is excessive. Put the child somewhere that is clearly not fun……..but never scary. I used to put my kids in a pack n play when they were too little to climb out. You can also make them sit in a chair or just in a spot on the floor where there is no activity or toys. Never put a child in time out in a dark closet or in a dark room or usually never in a room with a door closed. My son goes and sits in the corner for his time outs. We have a couple of corners in our house that are "toy free" and when I tell him to go take a time out, he picks a corner and sits down and faces the wall until I tell him he can get up. He’s 2! This works wonderfully for me. Sometimes he even puts himself in time out when he knows he has misbehaved…….like pushing his sister or something. However, some kids 2 or less do not "get" time outs, so you just have to "redirect" them. If they are doing something inappropriate, say, "Let’s not do that. Why don’t you come play with this toy."………something like that. Never yell or be scary in anyway to a child just be firm.
I’m curious about your question. It seems like you are considering babysitting work. If this is the case, then I wouldn’t do any disciplining without consulting the parents. Ask the parents about their discipline method. Find out if they do timeouts and ask them what their procedure is. The general method is the same, but kids are creatures of habit. You need to know how/where timeouts are administered. If they say they discipline by spanking, then just hope you don’t have any behavior problems, because you don’t want to set yourself up by spanking someone else’s kids………as you said……even with permission……….a bad idea.
References :
#2 by va_angle_queen on November 12th, 2009
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We call it "Middle of the Room" since most of our "corners" have furniture in them. No toys or other distractions allowed.
And the previous poster has a good rule of thumb, one minute per year of age. Now that my toddler is old enough to converse with, I usually ask if she realizes why she’s being disciplined before I "release" her. You’d be surprised how often she can articulate what she did wrong.
As for if it works, eh, sometimes not so much for the kids (the behavior is often repeated)…but at least it gives me (the parent/caregiver) a chance to get my emotions in check.
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