Time-Out Training Without Put-Backs, Spanks, or Restraint: A Brief Report of Deferred Time-Out

Abstract

We demonstrate the effectiveness of a procedure to increase compliance in young children who are resistant to Time-out (TO). Parents of two boys, 3 and 4 years of age, were unable to enforce TO without resorting to physical guidance and restraint. With deferred TO (DTO), if a child resists TO, caregivers no longer interact with the child or provide the child with tangibles or activities that the child cannot access independently. When the child requests a preferred item or activity from the caregiver that cannot be obtained independently, the child must first serve TO. Once TO is served, the caregiver may fulfill the child's request. Data suggest that DTO reduces the latency between the parental TO command and compliance with TO without put-backs, spanks, or restraint.

KEYWORDS:

• parent training
• parent–child interaction
• time-out

The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of M. Kelley Haack, Keith Allen, Shelby Evans, Jennifer Lindner, and Jennifer Kazmerski for their feedback and assistance in shaping this article.