How old was your child when you started to discipline them?

Question

When is it ok to put my son in time out? He is 19 months old and rarely does he do anything that I would have to do so for, but I am curious on how others handle this. No butt head comments - if you aren't going to give me a decent answer from your own experiences or those from your family or close friends, then don't answer.

Answer 1

With my daughter as well as the kids I keep in my home day care, I start discipline around age 1. They understand the word no and when my voice gets more firm. For a one year old I put them in an empty play pen in the play room for one minute after they stop crying. A child crying and fussing in time out is not having a time out, they are throwing a tantrum. One minute may not seem like a long time to you, but to a one year old, it's forever. Once the kids get to be about 1 1/2 and I know they will sit still, I put them on the floor for time out, usually a place close to where ever I am in the room and a place where they have limited sight of what else is going on in the room, like next to the tall bookshelf or next to the fridge in the kitchen. I usually have them sit for 2 minutes, but it completely depends on what they did. My 3 year old gets 5 minutes. For big offenses, biting, hitting, pushing, etc they go straight to their bed for time out and it's usually for 5 minutes. I know that in the nap room they don't get any interaction from the other children, they have no toys to play with, and it shows them that if they are not going to play nicely they will not get to play. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Answer 2

When your child does something that he "knows" is wrong you should immediately correct him. The punishment should fit the crime. Don't delay in punishment/correction because if time passes he will not understand why he is being punished/corrected and thus lose the whole lesson. You will learn what punishment/correction works for your child. It is always a good idea to start with the least severe, most effective method of punishment/correction because you may find that an eye-to-eye reminder of what the rules are stops the bad behavior and there isn't even a need to time-out or even more severe punishment. You asked for serious answers only and I speak from experience-we have four children, 20mts-12yrs. Enjoy your child and remember that there will always be people who disagree with your way of punishing/correction no matter what you do, you just have to do what you feel is best. A daily prayer to God for guidance in this matter will work wonders!

Answer 3

I have a two year old and i started disciplining when he started to understand the word 'no'. I put him in time out usually on the couch where I can see him and if he gets up give him a slight smack on the thigh to reinforce that he know he is in trouble, and he usually stays put. A good thing to remember is to make the punishment fits the crime. I usually give him a no the first time but if that doesn't work , I go to a light spanking, if he persists I put him in time out, I only go for about 5 minutes at a time because it's unrealistic for my son to stay put for any longer than that. This method is working well for me I don't know if it will work for you though. All kids are different.

Answer 4

At 19 months old a child starts to know right from wrong. It is good to always talk to them and explain why doing certain things is wrong. I raised 4 children (my first three in 38 months and my last one after 4 years) and always explained right from wrong to them at a very early age. By doing this, they understand more quickly rather than wait until they are older when they may have already developed bad habits. You must be consistent with your discipline. Even though there are times you just want to give up, you must continue to guide them properly. You must always show them you are the adult who knows better. I have watched a couple of shows on TV with the British nanny going into homes to help discipline wild children. The nanny has very good ideas for anyone who has a child who may be hard to discipline. Raising one child alone usually is not as much a problem with discipline because it is more one-on-one rather than dealing with more than one child at a time. In your case, you are only dealing with one child but he is used to being alone so you may have to show him how to share and mingle with other children. If your child rarely does anything bad, this is good because this child is probably the best to handle by explaining what is right and why doing certain things are wrong.

Answer 5

well discipline usually starts at an early age but the form and degree of discipline depends also on a their age.. the discipline you use on a 4 year old is not the same as a 2 year old.. when your child was 8 months old and would grab things that could hurt them or that they were not suppose to touch you told them no.. I have just started using time out for my 2 1/2 year old and well it doesn't work as well as it does for my 4 year old but i keep doing it..the length of time is much shorter for my two year than my four year old... at 19 months their attention spam is very short but start now and be consistent and talk to him with words he can understand and keep it brief...

Answer 6

It would be pretty pointless, IMHO. The general rule is one minute of time out for each year of the child's age. At a year and a half, you aren't talking about much of a time out.

Also, time outs are pointless if you can't explain the reason in terms the child can understand. That's pretty hard with a 19 month old. By the time he is two, however, his receptive language should be up to the task

For the time being, try sticking to specific instructions and rebukes. For really serious infractions (where he puts himself at risk, for example) then time in bed might be warranted.

Answer 7

I just asked the same question a little while ago. My daughter is 14 months and when she gets into trouble I usually pop her hand lightly after telling her twice not to do or touch something and if she doesn't stop I put her in her walker, but she is not at the point that if I put her in the corner she will stay, she is too active for that. the best answer I got was to start disciplining them when they deliberately defy your authority, and I really agree with that.

Answer 8

You should have started timeout when he made 1 year; it's never too late to start, however. My son is very headstrong and always has been...but I must admit he comes by this honestly. Never allow him to hit you or hurt you. This is unacceptable. Keep the timeout under 5 minutes for now. Or start with two minutes and give him some indicator of how long he has left. It will take time and patience but he will learn.

Answer 9

Its around 2 years when the toddler starts doing things on his own. This is the time when you should pat him for doing good things and admonish him when he/she does something wrong. Never beat your child at this age for any thing done wrong but show him affectionately what he should do. The age of learning varies but on an a average its about two years.

Answer 10

It is suggested that the "time out" should be one minute for each year of the child's age. This is a general rule. As you are aware, each child is unique. Your judgment should be the final answer due to you knowing the child and his behavior patterns.