Parenting experts have criticized the timeout technique in recent years, saying that it might neglect a child's emotional needs. Most experts agree that punishment is harmful to a child's emotional development and that isolation — the defining quality of the timeout technique — is a form of punishment.
Are time-outs harmful?
They are recommended by most pediatricians as a way to curb negative behaviors ranging from talking back to physical aggression. Research indicates that when used properly — along with other techniques that balance nurture and structure — time outs are effective and do not cause harm.
What are the disadvantages of time out?
Furthermore, time-out:
- Makes our child angrier.
- Decreases our child's capacity to develop effective coping skills.
- Ruptures our relationship.
- Ignores the reasons that underlie our child's behavior.
- Makes our child more selfish as they think less about their behavior, and more about how unfair the world is.
