A timeout can be helpful

Sometimes a time-out can be a good thing. My three-year old grandson, Nicholas, and I were playing one evening. I won our sword fight or whatever it was we were playing. He put his hands on his hips and told me I was in time-out. I was not to get up until he told me I could.
I was more than happy to take a break from the action. It was suppertime and I didn’t like anything that was on the menu. Being in time-out allowed me to skip supper. It was almost nine. Actually it was closer to 10 our time. I know from experience that if I eat that late I will wake up screaming with nightmares. It is easier to skip the meal altogether. I sat in the rocking chair and enjoyed the relative silence.
After everyone had finished eating Nicholas finally told me I could get up. I went in and chatted with the other adults as the children headed for baths. I managed to avoid another time-out for the rest of our visit.
Nicholas has not been so lucky. His mother signed him and his brother, Jacob, up for swimming lessons. Jacob behaved perfectly. Nicholas did not.
He was upset that the instructor wouldn’t let him swim by himself. He told his mom that when he stepped off the platform he “sink-did.” That is probably why he was taking lessons in the first place. He refused to do anything he was told. When the instructor complained to my daughter, Beth, she was less than sympathetic.
Beth had taught swim lessons many years ago. She was well aware of what the instructor was going through. Beth had a talk with Nicholas and he finally began doing what he was asked.
This compliance didn’t last. When it was time to get dressed he turned into a temper tantrum throwing monster. The shorts he was provided were the wrong color. He didn’t want to wear a shirt. After a swat on the behind he was put in time-out. He refused to sit where he was told. Beth ended up holding him in place until they both calmed down.
Putting children in time-out is today’s equivalent of yesterday’s trip to the woodshed. It works for some children and not for others. When Beth was little, she would respond to the judicious application of the evil eye. I resorted to a swat on the rump twice — once for tracing Walter Cronkite’s image on the television screen with a yellow crayon and once for something equally harmless.
I don’t think Beth will be so lucky with her boys. They are as headstrong as they are creative and rambunctious. Time-outs are a frequent occurrence.
Putting children and even adults in time-out is an effort to get them to calm down and be more compliant. Spanking has fallen out of favor in our world. That is a good thing as using violence to promote proper behavior seems counterproductive. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work.
Nevertheless, taking an occasional break from the action is a good thing. It allows children a chance to be quiet (after they finish yelling and crying). More importantly, it gives the parents a chance to get a few minutes of peace before the next disaster hits.
We should all give ourselves a time-out once in awhile. It is good to remove ourselves from a stressful situation for a few minutes. A little bit of quiet can do wonders and may even allow us to come up with a solution to whatever is bothering us at the moment. Plus a time-out can get us out of eating supper way too late in the evening.