Which form of punishment do you think is right for a child "Spanking" or "Timeout" and why?

Answer 1

timeout because if you want them to know that they shouldn't hit people then you should use time out but after timeout doesn't work take the most prescious thing away from them and tell them that they aren't getting it back until they can be good... I recommend 1 minute per year of age 8=8minutes in time out!!!

Answer 2

It depends on the child. If timeout works then that is the way to go. However timeout does not work on all children and there is nothing wrong with spanking if it is backed up with love. Children need boundaries to feel secure so I believe it does not matter if you use spanking or time out to enforce boundaries. But you must be consistent. No one knows better than the person who loves and cares for a child daily which method is best for that child.

Answer 3

Timeout is best. I rarely used spanking. I was occasionally spanked as a child but more often then not sat in a chair. Spanking is over and done with in a short time whereas time-out can seem like prison to a kid who wants to get out there and play. Time out gets the message out better that your behaviour was unacceptable. You also are in a form of public ridicule if your siblings or friends get to see you in the chair. That can be pretty convicting to change behaviour.

Answer 4

I use both, and several others.

Mostly, we're on the reward system. They are good, they get something special. They are bad, they get something taken away for the rest of the day.

For more serious offenses, they get put in the corner for the number of minutes per year of age. 5 years old = 5 minutes in the corner.

For the worst behavior, they get spanked for now. (ages 5 and 3) They aren't old enough to remember one day to the next, so a grounding for a week is over their heads. We go day by day. When they are older, they will be grounded and the loss of privileges will be more than the rest of the day.

I think that for small children, kindergarten and under, they only have so much memory for punishments. They won't remember tomorrow that they can't watch TV because of what they did yesterday. So timeouts are a short term punishment for minor offenses. And spankings are a short term punishment for major offenses.

Answer 5

Both! But spanking to me is for very young children who have done something potentially dangerous and you are trying to "shock" them into compliance. It can never, ever be done out of anger and should simply "sting" not hurt the fatty part of the bottom. Timeout has to mean something to a child, in other words, they have to be at an intellectual point to understand why they're being "timed out". And if you have to sit there with them during the time out, so be it, as long as you make sure you've gotten your point across. I'm from the old school of thought, and I believe that if you don't establish a degree of discipline in your home by the time your "babies" are older, they will run your home. They will also grow up to be so spoiled as to be irresponsible which in turn might mean that your "parenting" will go on into perpetuity! Just my opinion.

Answer 6

It all depends on the circumstances, I usually try timeout first and spank if that does not work, but there are times when spanking is more appropriate.

Answer 7

I use both, spankings and timeouts. He gets a spanking and then off to timeout. His spankings don't really hurt him physically but they hurt his feelings. He then goes to timeout for 3 minutes. It is working. Now all I have to do is threat a spanking and timeout and he straightens up.

Answer 8

I was always given the option when I was little, I could either have 2 "swats" or 20 minutes in timeout and I think that is what I am going to do with my daughter. It worked very well with me. I dont agree with spanking in public because that is just horrific!

Answer 9

I don't believe in spanking.

I don't use timeout in the traditional sense. A "timeout" in our house is NOT about isolation or shame. No "naughty step" or standing in the corner or time out chairs, etc.

Instead, we use it the way it is used in sports. "Timeout" means we stop and talk to the "coach" (parent) and figure out: what went wrong? why did it go wrong? how do we fix it? how do we do better next time?

Punishments/consequences are typically loss of privledges or being put "in service" to the family member that you have wronged. (If you hurt someone, you take care of them the rest of the day. If you break something of someone elses' then you fix it, etc.)

Answer 10

i believe it dpends on the child. as a mother of 4, each one has a different personality and different needs.... never do either one when angry or mad... timeout should equal the age of the child.... 4 minutes for 4 yr old.... if u choose to spank do it only with an open hand on the butt... look at the child and never compare one child to the next....