Classroom Management: Timeouts (Yea or Nay?)
Are timeouts actually detrimental to kids? Read on to get classroom management perspectives from children’s ministry pros.
According to the Experts…
Research from 2014 questioned the repeated use of the timeout. It suggests that timeouts may affect the physical structure of the brain. Here’s what several children’s ministry leaders have to say on the matter:
Create a space to regroup—not to isolate.
According to Sheila Halasz, a preschool consultant and founder of Power of Preschoolers: “A timeout that’s used to isolate a child from the group isn’t very effective, and it can cause safety and emotional concerns. Here’s a better discipline tool: Provide a place for the child to regroup feelings and have some self-reflection time, while still being close to his or her peers. However, if the child is a possible harm to others, then a timeout can be necessary for the safety of your group and to help the child compose his or her feelings. ”
Consider the context.
Advocate for family and church partnership Jonathan Cliff says, “As a parent, timeouts are necessary to provide a healthy consequence. As a leader at church, timeouts aren’t always the best way to deal with problems. It helps to define what a timeout is: At home, a timeout separates the child from what he wants to do, allowing the child to learn from mistakes. Using this same technique in children’s ministry will only serve to alienate the child and separate them from the group—in a place where we want everyone to feel welcome. I believe in redefining timeouts. Instead of sending a child to the corner to sit in a chair, have an adult take the child to another part of the room and give more one-on-one attention. That gives the rest of the children a better way to continue, while at the same time giving our problem behavior a more direct interaction with a leader.”
Set appropriate boundaries.
Jessica Daugherty, director of Lititz Christian Early Learning Center, shares: “Timeouts are OK, as long as you have boundaries. Use the age rule when it comes to the amount of a time a timeout lasts; so if the child is 3, the timeout lasts for three minutes or if the child is 5, then the timeout can last for up to five minutes. Always follow up with the child to talk about the reason he or she needed a timeout, and help the child come up with a positive plan to make different choices.”
Use Timeouts Effectively
The timeout chair is a useful tool in preschool classrooms if used correctly. If you choose to use timeouts, here are practical tips to make it work well:
- Think of the “timeout chair” as a way to help children learn to regulate their emotions. Help children understand that when they’re in a bad mood, they need to get away from other people to collect their thoughts and emotions.
- Don’t leave a child in timeout for longer than the duration of her attention span. That means one minute in timeout for each year of age. Otherwise, the child will forget why she’s even in the chair!
- Keep a special chair in a predetermined corner of your room. This helps the children know where to go when you send them to timeout.
- Apply the same questions and standards to each session. Post these questions above the chair: “Why do I need a time out?” and “What could I have done differently?”
- Reaffirm that the child is loved and accepted. After focusing on the child’s behavior, finish her timeout by saying, “I love you and so does God!”
Be sure to check out these helpful classroom management resources: The Quick Guide to Discipline for Children’s Ministry and the Children’s Ministry Pocket Guide to Behavior Challenges. This pocket guide is full of quick tips to help create a stress-free classroom. Plus it’s sold in packs of 10, so you can give one to each of your volunteers! Looking for more teaching tips? Check out these ideas!
