we use timeout in our house as a form of discipline. we base the length of time in timeout on the age of the child. john is four years old and spends four minutes in timeout.

i had to put one of the kids in timeout tonight. i know you are expecting that i had to put john in timeout. not tonight. my sweet little gillian bit her brother. he was sitting on the couch with me and she wanted to get in my lap. as she was climbing on the couch she leaned over and bit his leg. i immediately put gillian in timeout while daddy examined the wound. gillian’s timeout spot is john’s chair. it’s soft and easy for mommy to keep her in the chair. as i am trying to keep her in the chair (for the whole minute and a half), john comes over and tells me “mommy you are punishing her and thats not nice.” he continued “it’s not nice to punish her in someone else’s chair.”