Time-Out is an Effective Behavior Management Tool

Parents seem to be running out of techniques with the common parenting strategy, 'time-out', doesn't seem to be working with many kids. Time-out is a discipline procedure best used on children aged two to eight-years of age. Here's some good news. A parent, Germana Eckert recently found out that she has been doing time-outs all wrong.

Professor Mark Dadds says time-outs is an effective behavior management tool, only when done correctly. Dadds described it as a period of calming oneself down when you are back in control, one can come back out of time-out. "Parents get really angry and they give multiple instructions over and over again, and its only when the behavior has escalated out of control that they finally use time-out."

The NSW Department of Family and Communities said its experts did support various forms of time-outs for some challenging children. But its not a 'standalone' strategy. Its included in a plan that focuses on other positive strategies and skills development.

"You really want to introduce it to the kids and say these are the behaviors we don't accept and if you behave this way then you are going to be given a warning and if you continue to do it then we are going to put you in alone time or time-out," said Dadds. "There is no anger involved in time-out, there is no rejection involved, it simply is saying, 'you have done something wrong, just go and chill, get yourself back in control and then you are back in with the family."