I'm a big supporter of the "time-out" approach to discipline. When things are going off the rails - food is being thrown around, someone has bit the dog, or written on the wall in permanent marker - I think we all stand to benefit from a little breathing space. Sends a message to the kids and gives Mommy a moment to calm down as well.
The other day I put my 18 month old in time-out. Is she too young? Perhaps. Did she know she wasn't supposed to throw her (full) dinner plate on the floor? Most definitely. So off she went to the time-out chair. She kicked, she screamed, she squirmed all the way to the ground so that only her little pig-tails were resting on the seat of the chair. It was such a ruckus that Cooper and Peter both exited to the front porch to eat their dinner. I didn't care, I had a message to send - and I believe she got it.
To be honest I don't know what the big deal is anyway. I would love it if from time to time I was forced to sit in a chair and nobody was allowed to talk to me. Sounds amazing. And since time-outs correspond to your age I guess that means that my next time-out will clock in at 39 minutes. Divine. Maybe tomorrow night I'll throw my plate on the floor and bite the dog and see where that lands me.
I wonder what it would take to get sent to my room!
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