De-Stressing Tips for Parents

Most parents are familiar with the traditional time out chair. It is typically a place to send a child when they misbehave in lieu of harsher punishment. The child is asked to sit in a small chair in a quiet corner away from the regular traffic in the home. A kitchen timer is then set with an agreed upon time. The child is not allowed to move from the chair until he shows proper remorse for his offense or until the timer goes off, whichever comes first.

Now I don't know about you, but I think all parents should have a time out chair too. This chair should be set in a quiet, out of the way corner of the home. Mommies and daddies should go there when they are stressed out, cranky or overtired. They should also be sentenced to the chair if they can't say anything nice or if they throw childish temper tantrums. The adult time out chair often comes in handy right after work when a parent comes home. As a child's excitement bubbles over with the entrance of a parent, the parent's tolerance level begins to fall at an equally rapid rate. Before the situation gets out of hand, the adult should head directly for the corner.

The chair could be a lifesaver when a parent opens the door and gets hit with a scene of destruction that could rival any nuclear holocaust movie. With the television blasting at ear piercing decibels, toys strewn from stem to stern, and dirty dishes piled to the kitchen ceiling, a parent can throw themselves into the time out chair signaling the end of a day of chaos and pandemonium.

The parents need to discuss with their child the rules of mommy or daddy's time out chair. A ten to fifteen minute time period should be sufficient. This should allow enough time for a parent to settle down but not be too long for a child to wait. When an adult goes to the chair, the child must promise not to harass, disturb or pester. They need to play quietly until the timer goes off. This gives everyone a chance to calm down.

A parent's stint in the time out chair may also signal a period for everyone to tidy up. During that short span a child could make a game of picking up as many things as possible and putting them away so mommy or daddy feels better.

Sometimes it is beneficial for a parent to share the time out chair with their child. An ample supply of books, to either be shared or viewed separately, should be stored beside the chair. It also helps if the chair is positioned so as to catch the best possible view. A window or large glass door provides a perfect vista for time out chair musings. This could be even more fun if the coincidental antics of an acrobatic squirrel or other such diversion can be incorporated for a touch of comic relief.

If a parent is in doubt as to whether a situation warrants the use of mommy's (or daddy's) time out chair over another punishment, it is better to err on the side of the chair. You can seldom go wrong by starting with this very beneficial form of discipline. It may be all you need to improve the harmony in your home.