do kids under 2 really understand what timeout means.?

Question

please no smart a$$ answers. only serious ones.

Answer 1

I have two daughters under two and truthfully I think they grasp part of it but certainly not all. It is best in my opinion, being that I may be completely wrong, that you should start time out earlier rather then later because if you child has always been "allowed" to do something and then all of a sudden their forth birthday rolls around and you start disiplining them then they are likely to feel angry and slighted. They didn't understand before, but they understand now that you have changed the rules, and that will probably lead to more resentment and more outbursts of behaviour. Where as if it has always been the case that... you try putting kitty in the toilet per say, means you have to sit on the sofa alone for two minutes, then they won't feel anything has been taken from them. Discipline is just a form of communication, we speak to our children long before they can talk or understand, perhaps in the same way this helps them to learn how to speak, so does disiplining them early aid their understanding of cause and effect.

Answer 2

I have 2 under 2, and my older one who is 20 months understands and I have been giving him timeouts since he was 18 months old. I only leave him there for 1 1/2-2 mins but he knows what the timeout chair is for and he hates the chair. All I have to do is say "do you need a timeout" and he stops what he is doing and plays nicely again. Worked for me!

Answer 3

We have been using the "naughty chair" (timeout) since my daughter was about 1 (she's now just over 2) and it has worked quite well. Actually, it seemed to work a little better when she was younger, because when we placed her on the chair, she did not realize she could actually physically leave the chair on her own (oh boy does she know now!). Now the threat of the naughty chair is even better than actually putting her on it. I don't know if she "gets it" - she does know that when she is placed there, she has done something unacceptable and she doesn't like to be there.

Answer 4

Not really. They know that they are in trouble, but may have difficulty distinguishing what for. I wouldn't make the timeout for long, but long enough for them to realize that they did something wrong, and will sit there for usually the age of the child in time. Example, 2 year old sits for 2 minutes, etc.

Answer 5

Well kids during that stage in life are mimickers and copy what they see. They won't understand what timeout is for unless you explain it to them in a reasonable way and when they pass the age of two they will begin to understand it to the extent of why it occurs.

Answer 6

no under two is really young to really understand timeout but iit's a better to do timeouts than have them get hurt doing whatever it was they were getting the time out for, and its better than yelling or spanking if u do that

Answer 7

Well, I'm a mom of two boys. One of them actually understood about 16 months, the other is over two and still doesn't quite get it. It has a lot to do with their verbal comprehension. I would say most of the time, no, they probably do not understand. The best thing you can do at that age is to redirect them. Good luck.

Answer 8

It depends on the kid. If you get the feeling that your child doesn't, try to explain it to him/her. Be firm, but don't use a timeout as a threat. Only use it after they've misbehaved. That way they know there's no warnings.

Answer 9

yes and no they know they did something wrong to get timeout but they probably won't care because its the terrible twos

Answer 10

no a time out should only last as long as a childs age. They don't understand what they did let alone a time out.