time-out

as erica has been growing in social awarenes-- and independence-- i've become concerned with how to discipline her. hmmm... There are so many options out there, and i'm trying to figure which is the best.

one controversial option is spanking. i'm not really opposed to parents spanking; my parents did, and i dont feel like emotionally scarred for life. [of course, it must be within reason. no abusing the kids.] However, i dont feel like its something i want to do. confession-- i lose my temper quite easily. and i dont want to spank in anger. i sit here now and tell you that i would NEVER abuse my daughter. NEVER. but nonetheless, i dont want to put myself in the habbit of spanking if i'm gonna be really angry.

so. what to do? hmm... i scoured my book: "what to expect the toddler years." lots of options. but i wasnt sure how affective some of them would be. hmm... A-Ha! they had an excerpt on Time-Out. make them stay in an "alone" place [but not too alone that they feel scared and abandoned; ie. not in a closet] for one minute per year of age. Though for one-year-olds, thirty seconds would be suffice. [which i'm wondering: thirty seconds? thats SO short!]

well, i've decided to try this out. My plan is that if she does something i dont like, i'll tell her not to do it again. if she does it again, i warn her that if she does it another time, i'll put her in time out. Where? out in our sunroom, strapped in the highchair. that way she cant run away. and, since we have two hairchairs, it'll be the one she never really uses, so that when we sit to eat a meal she's not scared/upset.

sound good? perhaps you think its silly; thats what andrew thinks. oh well. i wanted to try it anyway.

HERE'S THE FUNNY PART: i decided this a month or two ago [not exactly sure, b/c time goes by so fast]. Whenever i threaten a time-out, she stops misbehaving! she doesnt even KNOW what a time-out is, b/c i've never actually had to use it! but i guess she realizes that its not a good thing. and i think she really realizes the threat in a time-out, b/c when i forget to threaten it and instead say: "stop it," she just keeps doing it. but whenever i say "i'll put you in time-out," she stops.


[footnote: i keep trying to add pictures, and silly Blogger wont let me. grrr...]