SuperNanny Time-Out Secrets

Okay, so every parent who has watched Supernanny knows the most basic positive parenting trick in the book to get our children to listen is the: "The Supernanny time out." Time-out is when we take our child away from a specific activity and give them time to reflect on their bad behavior. Well guess what? Kids rarely take time-outs seriously to spend that time reflecting. Instead they spend those minutes bribing us, coming up with ultimatums, crying, screaming, kicking, and so on and so forth. Let's be real, the time-out chair has seen it all. But have you tried SuperNanny's time-out secrets? Well if you haven't, be prepared to change your time-out ways.

Supernanny Advice for Parents

Before you physically pick up your child and place them in the time-out chair, try this SuperNanny advice:

• Show some affection.
• When your child has apologized, hug him/her and thank them for following the rules of time-out.

From here, the bad behavior or argument that resulted in time-out should be dismissed. This should be the exact positive parenting discipline routine you follow every time when utilizing time-out. Be careful not to stray from it, as that will only cause more confusion and chaos. When children know what the consequences are, they're less likely to exhibit the behavior in the first place.

Supernanny Time Out Tips

• Give a warning. Before you decide to put your child in a Supernanny time-out, warn them. Try, "If you don't stop ____ then you're going to go sit in time-out." This will give your child a heads-up and allow them to correct the behavior before further punishment ensues. Just putting kids in time-out will confuse them and they won't know what went wrong.
• Watch your body language. Don't stand over your child with your hands crossed over your chest or any other authoritative body language. This will only make your child feel less in control and thus, make them retreat back to the disruptive behavior that put them in time-out in the first place. Instead, make eye contact and come down to your child's level. From there, you can give a firm warning and explain why the behavior is disruptive.
• Don't continue talking. Once children are in time-out don't continue talking with them. Supernanny advice: Give kids some time to cool off and avoid arguing back and forth with them. Leave them alone and don't allow siblings or other family members to interrupt that time.
• When a Supernanny time out is over. Come back to your child after five minutes and explain to them a second time why their behavior put them in time-out. Again, make eye contact and use a firm voice. During this time you also need to encourage an apology from your child. "You should apologize because I asked you to do ____ and you didn't do it."