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Time Out: How it is Abused, What it Could/Should Look Like

by Roslyn Duffy
September/October 1996
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Time Out:
How It is Abused


Typically time out is . . .

_ A new name for punishment.
One child hits her playmate. The teacher marches over and tells the child to "TAKE A TIME OUT!" Although the words "AND SUFFER" remain unspoken, they reverberate in the air. Children hear the unspoken "suffer" loud and clear.

_ Used as a threat.
"Bobby, do you want to have to take a time out?" Again, the unspoken message is that Bobby better change what he is doing or he will suffer for it. Is a suffering child your goal? Is fear the means by which we want children to learn acceptable behavior?

_ The only way the adult knows how to respond to a child's misbehavior.
Imagine if the only way a driver could control a car was with the brake pedal. There would be no steering wheel, no way to adjust the gas pedal to reduce speed, and no rearview mirror to monitor traffic. Would you want to drive such a car? If time out is your only tool, it is time to get a better equipped vehicle.

_ Rarely discussed with children except when they are being sent to it.
It is ...

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