233: Time Outs: Helpful or harmful? Here’s what the research says

Your Parenting Mojo - Respectful, research-based parenting ideas to help kids thrive

Time Outs: Helpful or harmful? Here’s what the research says

Pediatricians and researchers commonly recommend that parents use time outs when kids misbehave. Time outs are promoted as an effective, evidence-based parenting strategy - although the real reason they’re so highly recommended is that they cause less damage to children than hitting. But if we’re already using respectful/gentle parenting strategies most of the time, could there be any benefit to adding time outs when our children don’t comply with more gentle methods? This episode delves into the research on:

• Which children and families researchers think time outs are effective for (it’s not the same group of children who are usually study participants!);
• The precise time out script that has been shown to be effective (and why it works);
• Whether time outs harm children or not (this is one of the biggest controversies in the Gentle Parenting world)

If you’ve heard that time out is an effective strategy to gain children’s cooperation but weren’t sure whether it fits with your Gentle Parenting approach, this episode will help you to decide for yourself whether it’s a good fit for you and your family. Other episodes mentioned:

Episode 231: How to support baby’s development after a Wonder Week

Episode 230: Do all babies have Wonder Weeks? Here’s what the research says

Episode 154: Authoritative is not the best parenting style

Episode 148: Is spanking a child really so bad?

Episode 072: Is the 30 Million Word Gap Real: Part II

Episode 066: Is the 30 Million Word Gap real?

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Xu, Jingyi, Lucy A. Tully, and Mark R. Dadds. "Generation time-out grows up: young adults’ reports about childhood time-out use and their mental health, attachment, and emotion regulation." European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (2024): 1-9.