Time Out Can Be Painful

You know how all the parenting books tell you to use time out as a form of discipline? The 'experts' describe at length how to instruct your child to sit quietly for a set amount of time. Uh, that doesn't really work at our house. Exhibit A:

Addie had a time out yesterday (1 of 23). This is what she did while sitting quietly and pondering her poor choices. She rubbed her face across the carpet. She said it was fun. Do you see the carpet burns across her forehead and nose? That's the kind of time out that happens around here. Yesterday she slapped a bacon bandaid across her forehead burn and wore it to church.

Time out always seems counterproductive at our house. One time when Makell was about 4 yrs. old, I put her in the corner. She used her discipline time to chew the drywall off the wall. I kid you not. Gnawed. the. wall. right. off.

Maybe my kids just find creative ways to cut the boredom. Or maybe, just maybe, the 'experts' have it backwards. Parents need the time out. I think I'm going to try sitting in the corner of my room for a lengthy amount of time while I quietly ponder my poor choices. With the frequency of necessary time outs around here, I may just end up sitting there all day. Sounds like a pretty good plan.