Time Out!

Today my 3 year old son had to sit through roughly 5 time outs, which is, relatively, pretty good. There is nothing more frustrating to him than having to sit still for a few minutes. This form of discipline certainly works for me, and can be the funniest moments of my day. Within a second of me saying,"Okay...time out!," Amari will normally walk himself to the chair saying, "Sorry mummy. I am sorry like a hundred million. I'll never do it again. I will listen...I promise." The sorrys keep coming and coming until the time out is over.

During one of his time outs today, it took every effort for me not to laugh when he said, "Mummy, you can't put me on a time out. I'm too cool for a time out...so you can't put me on one." Sometimes he will cry, and sometimes he won't, but he will always say, "Mummy, I don't like you anymore."

After the time out, we have a little talk about what he did and why he did it, and why it wasn't good for him to do. If Amari doesn't understand, he will tell me by saying, "Mummy, I don't know what you're talking about." He will also debate with me, as to why what he did wasn't wrong. It's incredible what a 3 year old can come up with. If I'm lucky, he will give me a correct answer, and almost always, will refrain from being a repeat offender, at least for that day.

If Amari refuses the time out, we put him to work ;)

Time outs work in our household; do they work in yours? If you have any funny time out stories, please share in the comments below.