Discipline

 I believe that the point of discipline is to teach children self-control.  I use natural or logical consequences whenever possible.  For example, if you spill the milk then you clean it up.  I use redirection whenever that would be helpful for a child to see what their other options are at the time.  When needed with toddlers I use time out in a pack n play with a minute for each year of their age.  As a child becomes verbal, I teach them pat phrases that they can use to express their feelings to the other children.  For example, “I don’t like that” or “please stop.”  With older children I use time out as a time for the child to calm down so that the child determines how long they sit.  I do not usually use a timer, but rather as soon as the child is calm then I follow up with a conversation talking about what they should do differently next time.  If it seems the child is repeatedly making the same poor choice and would learn better with a consequence of sitting in time out away from the fun activities for a set amount of time then I would use a timer and set it for the number of minutes that equals their age.