So here are our questions that keep my seven year old out of time out . . .

1.  Why do you think you are in time out?

2.  What could you have done differently so that you wouldn’t be in time out right now?

3.  Will you try to choose the right from now on?  _____ YES  _____ NO

4.  What do you think you could do now to make amends?

That’s it.  Four simple questions that seem to be the worst thing in the world to have to sit in time out and answer.  I hope this helps keep your kids out of time out too.

My four year old is all too familiar with our time out spot.  I pretty sure he’s worn an indention in the floor where he sits to think about his choices that led him there.  With my seven year old the time out spot became a total joke until we added the time out sheet.  Our time out sheet has questions on it like;  Why do you think you are in time out?  If you broke a rule what rule was it?  What could you do differently next time?  I love the time out sheet because it really makes him think about what happened as he fills it out.  He holds himself accountable for his own choices and realizes the consequences.

As much as the time out spot has become a staple so has the hug and apology that follows (usually to the little sister).  If for nothing else, time out is a place where the kids can calm down before they return to play.  But sometimes it’s not the kids who need the time out. 

Around 5:00pm (the bewitching hour for my kids) I reach the end of my patience.  Between cooking dinner, getting ready for my dance class and trying to keep my kids out of the snack cupboard, I loose it!  So instead of throwing my kids out the window, I just loudly announce that mommy has to go to time out.  Of course my kids look at me like I’ve lost my marbles, but it’s effective, and I head out the door to the garage.  In our garage I have a large punching bag called “Mommy’s Sanity”.  For some reason beating the crap out of the punching bag  for two minutes seems to return me to my kids in a much better state of mind and I feel like I can cope for a little while longer, or at least till my husband gets home.

So whether it’s in the garage, or in a bathroom with a lock on the door, Mommy’s (and Daddy’s) need their own time outs too.  It’s just too bad time out couldn’t always be at the spa.