AnonyMouse_19135 Posted May 15, 2011 Posted May 15, 2011 I'd like to find out people's views on this please as a nursery near us got outstanding recently and it was mentioned in the report about a time out area. I'm thinking of getting a beanbag or something similar to use for time out after bad behaviour but then I thought if we called it a reflection area children could go and sit there if they are cross/sad/scared etc so a member of staff could go to them to talk BUT that could then send mixed messages if a child was asked to sit there because they had used unacceptable behaviour. Another issue I'm not sure about is whether the beanbag/chair stays available all the time or whether it is kept out of the play area so it's not used in play and only specifically for time out I'm sure none of this is making sense lol but I would be really interested to see what others do and if you have a time out place/chair/area and how it works for you?
AnonyMouse_3735 Posted May 15, 2011 Posted May 15, 2011 we seldom had to use timeout so when we did chose an area at the time and used it.. we felt that way it was not caught up with the naughty step or naughty chair connotations which are around and that parents often use. we did however once have to set up a quiet reflection area for a child who really had issues with her behaviour becoming very vocal and as she put it 'angry' very quickly... she was soon very aware of when she felt like this and would return to the quiet area to calm down before returning to play.. took us a long time of removing her when we noticed the behaviour and chatting so she could recognise it to get her to do this...but mum said she had started to do this at home as well instead of lashing out at younger brother, so it worked for her... (but it was sometimes hard for us not to laugh watching her face and attitude when she removed herself) It may be just me but to allocate a timeout area is not something I would want ... always preferring to deal with each incident individually and at the time.. disliking the thought that the children could see it as the 'naughty place' where you are sent if you do something wrong- bit like a jail! and while we do not use the phrase it is one parents (and children) will use no matter how much we try to educate them..
AnonyMouse_19135 Posted May 15, 2011 Author Posted May 15, 2011 we seldom had to use timeout so when we did chose an area at the time and used it.. we felt that way it was not caught up with the naughty step or naughty chair connotations which are around and that parents often use. we did however once have to set up a quiet reflection area for a child who really had issues with her behaviour becoming very vocal and as she put it 'angry' very quickly... she was soon very aware of when she felt like this and would return to the quiet area to calm down before returning to play.. took us a long time of removing her when we noticed the behaviour and chatting so she could recognise it to get her to do this...but mum said she had started to do this at home as well instead of lashing out at younger brother, so it worked for her... (but it was sometimes hard for us not to laugh watching her face and attitude when she removed herself)It may be just me but to allocate a timeout area is not something I would want ... always preferring to deal with each incident individually and at the time.. disliking the thought that the children could see it as the 'naughty place' where you are sent if you do something wrong- bit like a jail! and while we do not use the phrase it is one parents (and children) will use no matter how much we try to educate them.. This is the exact reason I have started thinking about it and I also dislike the thought of a dedicated chair etc. Your reflection area - was it a space used in play also? if so how did the child in question cope when they wanted to have time out but there were others playing there? that's the bit that worries me with the child we have
AnonyMouse_3735 Posted May 15, 2011 Posted May 15, 2011 it was a quiet area not used in normal play.. but we did not stop others using it for quiet sitting / away from others.. we tended to say just one child at a time as it was somewhere to be able to go and be alone.. not all children like to have constant interaction and some like the solitude for a while.. member of staff was always aware of who used it and how often but we only went there if we felt the child needed adult support for something.. it was only a small carpet/rug with a couple of cushions on it, somewhere close to where an adult would be found... / could see (ours was next to snack area where an adult was usually helping the children )- nothing elaborate and it did not take long to teach the children how we wanted it used but always in the same place. as there was only one allowed at a time it tended to be free most of the time.. so our little girl could go there whenever she knew she needed it..
AnonyMouse_1999 Posted May 15, 2011 Posted May 15, 2011 It may be just me but to allocate a timeout area is not something I would want ... always preferring to deal with each incident individually and at the time.. disliking the thought that the children could see it as the 'naughty place' where you are sent if you do something wrong- bit like a jail! and while we do not use the phrase it is one parents (and children) will use no matter how much we try to educate them.. Not just you I couldn't agree more I tried to reply to this thread earlier but didn't post as it came out as some sort of garbled gobbledegook! We have no specific area/chair but if i had to say yes or no to 'do you use time out' the answer would be yes. However, we never use the phrase time out but refer to it as 'thinking time'. I like the positive 'sound' of this and it is also used at circle time if we are discussing something (good bad or indifferent!) The children are given a choice of where they have their thinking time for unacceptable behaviour, (whether they have thinking time is not an option if deemed necessary by staff). It's quite interesting to see where children choose, some sit by me, some stand 'near me', some look out the window, some choose the quiet corner. I guess we try to deal with negative behaviour in a positive way and I really don't get the idea of sending children to a designated area/specific chair or whatever as I feel it conjurs up negative connotations. Having prattle on, we don't actually need to use it very often but maybe we are just lucky with the way children behave
Guest Posted May 15, 2011 Posted May 15, 2011 I do occassionally use time out but have no specific area or chair for this and i would like to have an area dedicated to such activity. We are lucky i guess i have a deputy who has alook that stops any further misbehaviour... i could reccomend one of those !!
AnonyMouse_13453 Posted May 15, 2011 Posted May 15, 2011 I do occassionally use time out but have no specific area or chair for this and i would like to have an area dedicated to such activity. Why do you want a dedicated area for time out?
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