Behavior Management – Crucial Foundations

Here are the “Dirty-Dozen”:  Twelve reasons why your behavior management efforts will fail.  These are different types of common, yet irrational, factually incorrect patterns of thinking that will lead you to negative emotional states and poor behavior management...

Corporal punishment refers to the use of physical pain to punish and change a person’s behavior.  In this section, we consider discipline involving the use of physical contact that does not elevate to the level of corporal punishment.  Throughout history, parents have...

In our “A.T.I.P.” model of discipline (i.e., Avoiding, Teaching, Ignoring, or Punishing), by definition “Time-Out” falls into the “Punish” category, because it is simply a technique intended to stop negative behavior.  But remember, the “A.T.I.P.” model of discipline...

“Time-out” is as much for you as it is for your child.  Take your child’s “Time-Out” as an opportunity for you to calm down and “take a break.”  You can view his Time-out as your “vacation” (that lasts for just a few-minutes), as long as you have “secured” him in a...

“Time-Out” is clearly a technique of “Punishment,” as it is intended to decrease negative behavior.  However, “Time-Out” can (and should) become a technique of “Teaching” as your child gets older and as your use of the technique becomes more nuanced. Instead of simply...

The best known and most generally accepted guideline for the duration of “Time-out” is one minute per year of age (e.g., 2 minutes for a 24-month-old; 2-½ minutes for a 2½-year-old).  You may, instead, choose to use one minute per year of age, but begin the timer when...

Remember that “Time-Out” by definition is a “Punishment” as it is intended to decrease negative behaviors.  Nowhere in the definition is it mentioned that a child must have full understanding before implementing Time-out.  Sometimes parents put a child in “Time-Out”...

No. If you give your child a warning (or two, or three!) before placing him in “Time-Out,” all you are doing is demonstrating inconsistency, which will undermine the strength and efficacy of the technique.  The more consistent you are, the more compliant your child...

When in “Time-Out” most children either (1) scream/cry/physically aggress, (2) appear unaffected, or (3) appear to enjoy time-out (e.g., laugh, test-limits), and very few young children show actually show regret and remorse. Imagine the hypothetical (non-existent)...

As indicated above, the term “Time-Out” is an abbreviation and originates from the longer phrase “Time-Out from reinforcement.”  As such, there are many ways to conduct a “Time-Out.”  For example, all of the following are versions of “Time-Out”: putting a 3-year old...