When I am seeing toddlers for their check ups, the topic of
behavior is usually at the top of both the parent's and my list
for discussion. Once a child is walking and beginning to talk,
all sorts of new behaviors seem to occur! Parents ask, how do I
stop my child from hitting or biting? What about misbehaving and
not listening? The toddler years are challenging for behavior as
a child is gaining independence, and testing as well. Toddler
and teens have some of the same attributes and it is important
to begin behavior modification during the toddler years. Time
out is the most commonly used behavior modification and not only
will parents use this method at home, but preschool and day care
teachers begin using this technique as well. This is the age
that children begin to understand rules and consequences. So how
do you do time out and when? I usually start using time out when
a child is between 15 -18 months of age. While I try to ignore
and distract tantrums, I use time out for biting, hitting and
those age