Time-out

1. Introduction

Version followed: the chair-based time-out sequence of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT; Eyberg & Funderburk PCIT Protocol, 2011, as described in the PCIT International time-out position statement and a 2021 PCIT training deck), used as the core procedure. Variants are named where they differ: Incredible Years "Time Out to Calm Down" (Webster-Stratton), Barkley's Defiant Children (as summarised by Quetsch et al., 2015), the University of Arkansas Center for Effective Parenting home handout (Zolten & Long), and Dadds & Tully's (2019) attachment-informed recommendations. [uncertain] The PCIT protocol manual itself and Barkley's manual are not drawn on directly. The details here come from the PCIT developers' organisation and from secondary summaries.

What it is. Time-out is short for "time-out from positive reinforcement." After a targeted behaviour, the child is briefly moved from a reinforcing situation (adult attention, toys, screens, peers) to a dull but safe spot. Time-out is not a stand-alone therapy. It is a negative-punishment procedure used inside behavioural parent training (PCIT, Incredible Years, Triple P, Barkley, Kazdin's PMT). The therapist teaches the parent, and the parent delivers it. [source: Wikipedia; PCIT International; Quetsch et al. 2015]

Origin. Arthur Staats used and named the procedure from 1958, first with his own young children. One example is putting his toddler in her crib until the crying stopped. His graduate assistant Montrose Wolf carried it to the University of Washington. There Wolf, Risley and Mees (1964) used room-based time-out on a hospital ward for the tantrums and glasses-throwing of a 3½-year-old boy. Their stated reason was that untrained ward staff could not apply extinction alone consistently. Modern procedures are much briefer, chair-based, parent-controlled and embedded in warm "time-in". The early locked-room form is history, not current practice. [source: Wikipedia; Wolf, Risley & Mees 1964 via neurodiversity.net]

How change happens. A behaviour such as hitting or refusing an instruction is often kept going by what follows it: attention, escape from a demand, or continued access to fun. Time-out removes those payoffs briefly, predictably and calmly, every time the behaviour occurs. A rich, warm time-in environment makes being removed from it matter. Afterwards the child is returned to the original demand, so time-out cannot become an escape route. Developers also frame it as practice in self-regulation, and as evidence that the parent stays calm and consistent even during misbehaviour. [source: PCIT International position statement; Quetsch et al. 2015; Dadds & Tully 2019 abstract]

2. Framework

Time-out is a component, not a free-standing modality. The phases below are those of the parent-training programmes that contain it. Session numbers are programme-specific. [source: PCIT International; Webster-Stratton IY paper; Quetsch et al. 2015]

Phase 0: Assessment and suitability (1–2 sessions).

• Goals: identify target behaviours and what maintains them (attention, escape, tangible), the child's developmental level, any trauma, neglect or seclusion history, separation anxiety, autism or ADHD, and the parent's mental health, anger control and maltreatment risk. Set a baseline frequency.
• Move on when: the targets are behaviours the child can control (aggression, destruction, defiant non-compliance), and no contraindication outweighs the plan. [source: Webster-Stratton; Quetsch et al. 2015; Dadds dos & don'ts; Rogers PCIT deck for separation anxiety] [synthesis: the explicit checklist]

Phase 1: Time-in and relationship skills (PCIT Child-Directed Interaction; IY about 8–12 sessions; Barkley at least 4 weeks before time-out).

• Goals: daily child-led play, labelled praise, reflecting, describing, imitating, enthusiasm, ignoring minor attention-seeking behaviour, predictable routines.
• Format: weekly sessions of about an hour with the parent, plus daily home practice of about 5 minutes (PCIT). In PCIT the therapist coaches live, often from behind a one-way mirror through an earpiece. [uncertain: home-practice length and coaching format are standard PCIT details, not stated in the sources]
• Move on when: PCIT requires parents to meet a coded mastery criterion for positive skills before discipline is taught. IY and Barkley use session counts and clinical judgement. [uncertain: exact PCIT CDI mastery thresholds]

Phase 2: Effective instructions (start of PCIT Parent-Directed Interaction).

• Goals: commands that are direct, positive, one at a time, specific and age-appropriate. Calm tone. Explain before the command where useful. Give commands only when necessary. Labelled praise for compliance.
• Move on when: the parent gives well-formed commands reliably. [source: Rogers PCIT deck 2021]

Phase 3: Teach and rehearse time-out.

• Goals: the parent understands the sequence. The child is taught the rules while calm, through role-play with a toy or puppet. The location is chosen and made safe. Therapist and parent rehearse together.
• Format: one session, then the first coached in-clinic use (PCIT).
• Move on when: the parent can run the sequence calmly in the clinic and the child understands it. [source: PCIT International; Dadds dos & don'ts; Zolten & Long]

Phase 4: Home implementation.

• Goals: consistent, immediate use for the agreed targets. Weekly review of a time-out log.
• Format: weekly sessions with coaching. IY adds weekly check-in calls while parents first try it.
• Move on when: time-out frequency is falling and compliance is rising. PCIT's PDI competency is correct follow-through on more than 75% of commands, with skills generalising beyond play. [source: Rogers PCIT deck; Webster-Stratton; Dadds dos & don'ts]

Phase 5: Generalisation.

• Goals: add house rules (a short list of behaviours that lead straight to time-out without a warning). Use in public only after the procedure is mastered at home. Extend to other caregivers.
• Exit: PCIT graduates families on mastery plus child behaviour within normal limits, rather than after a fixed number of sessions. [source: CBT+ handout; Zolten & Long; Rogers deck] [uncertain: graduation criterion stated from general PCIT knowledge]

Phase 6: Maintenance. Time-out should become rare. A rising rate means time-in or instructions need repair. [source: Dadds dos & don'ts; Webster-Stratton]

Typical length. PCIT averages roughly 12–20 weekly sessions. IY parent groups run about 14–20 weekly sessions. [uncertain: typical totals not given in the sources]

3. Guiding principles

[source for this section: PCIT International position statement; Webster-Stratton IY paper; Quetsch et al. 2015; Dadds dos & don'ts; Zolten & Long handout; Xu, Tully & Dadds 2024]

• Time-in first and most. Most of the child's day should be warm and reinforcing. Do not teach time-out until the relationship skills are in place.
• Boring but safe. The spot removes reinforcement, never safety, light or supervision. No closets, no locked doors, and the adult stays in sight or close by.
• Brief. A few minutes is enough. Longer does not work better. Fixed short durations (about 3–5 minutes) did as well as longer or open-ended ones in trials.
• Contingent, immediate, consistent. Use it for the same behaviours, every time, right away, by every caregiver. Inconsistent, delayed or emotional use is what parents most often get wrong.
• Predictable. The child knows in advance which behaviours lead to time-out and what will happen. Give one warning for non-compliance. House-rule breaks get no warning.
• Only for behaviour the child can control. Never use it for mistakes, fears, accidents, lack of understanding, pain or distress. Meet basic needs (hunger, tiredness, fear) first.
• Low attention, calm tone. During time-out there is no arguing, lecturing, scolding or eye contact. The parent's calm is part of the treatment.
• The adult ends it. The parent, not the child, decides when time-out is over, based on time plus a short calm or quiet period.
• No escape. After a time-out for non-compliance, repeat the original instruction. Time-out must not end the demand.
• Reconnect quickly. Return to warm attention and praise as soon as it ends. No rehashing, no forced apology.
• No shaming or rejecting language. Criticism and threats of abandonment damage what time-out depends on.
• Least restrictive back-up. Any back-up step is brief, used only to teach the child to stay in the chair, and fades out.
• The parent delivers it, the therapist coaches. In PCIT the therapist never places a child in time-out.
• Developmental fit. Readiness matters more than age. Adapt for toddlers, older children, ADHD, autism and developmental delay.
• Individualise for trauma. Use clinical judgement about whether, when and how to use time-out, and choose the gentlest back-up.
• Monitor and fade. Log each use. Frequency should drop. If it doesn't, review the whole programme rather than lengthening time-outs.
• Parent self-regulation. If the parent cannot stay calm, pause time-out training and build the parent's skills first.

4. Intervention inventory

The steps below are paraphrased. No programme handout is reproduced. Where programmes differ, the PCIT parameter comes first and the variants follow.

4.1 Suitability screen before teaching time-out

• Purpose: decide whether time-out is appropriate for this child and this parent, and which form to use.
• Steps:
  1. List the target behaviours and their likely function. Attention-maintained and escape-maintained behaviours both suit time-out. For escape-maintained behaviour, completing the original demand afterwards is essential.
  2. Check readiness. The child must be able to sit for a short fixed period and understand a simple rule.
  3. Screen for:
     • trauma, neglect or a history of seclusion or locked rooms (avoid a back-up room)
     • separation anxiety (do not use time-out for separation-driven behaviour; use graded exposure instead)
     • pain, fear or medical issues
     • the parent's anger, mental health and maltreatment risk.
  4. Under age 3, consider time-in or very brief guided pauses instead. Under 2, do not use time-out for non-compliance.
  5. Agree the plan and get the parent's informed consent, including what to expect: protest at first, often getting worse before it gets better.
• Example language (illustrative): "Before we add time-out, I want to check it fits your child. Has anyone ever shut them in a room, or have they spent time in hospital or care where they were kept apart from people?"
• Watch for: a parent who wants time-out mainly as punishment or to vent anger. Strengthen time-in and parental calm first. Hidden harsh discipline (shut-in rooms, smacking) needs safeguarding follow-up.
• [source: Quetsch et al. 2015; Webster-Stratton; Rogers PCIT deck; AAIMH via Wikipedia] [synthesis: ordering and the consent step]

4.2 Building time-in (relationship-enhancement prerequisite)

• Purpose: make the child's normal environment reinforcing, so removal from it has an effect, and to protect the relationship.
• When: always, before and throughout time-out use.
• Steps:
  1. Teach daily special play of about 5 minutes, led by the child.
  2. Parents use labelled praise, reflection of the child's words, description of the child's activity, imitation and enthusiasm. They avoid commands, questions and criticism during play. (These are PCIT's "PRIDE" skills.)
  3. Planned ignoring of minor attention-seeking behaviour, with immediate attention when the child behaves well.
  4. Coach live where possible, review home practice weekly, and continue until the mastery criterion is met.
  5. IY adds emotion coaching, predictable routines and the "Tiny Turtle" calm-down skill.
• Example language (illustrative): "You're building a tall tower. Thank you for using gentle hands with the blocks."
• Watch for: home practice not happening, or praise that is vague or sarcastic. If time-in is thin, time-out becomes the main source of attention and fails.
• [source: Quetsch et al. 2015; Webster-Stratton; Dadds dos & don'ts] [uncertain: PCIT coding thresholds]

4.3 Effective instructions

• Purpose: give the child an instruction they can actually follow, so time-out is used only for real non-compliance.
• Steps:
  1. Get the child's attention.
  2. State one instruction directly, as a statement rather than a question or a "let's".
  3. Phrase it positively (what to do), specifically, and at the child's level.
  4. Use a calm, ordinary voice. Give a brief reason before the instruction if useful.
  5. Give only instructions you are prepared to follow through on.
  6. Wait about 5 seconds in silence.
  7. If the child complies, give labelled praise straight away.
• Example language: PCIT deck example of praise after compliance: "Great listening." (Rogers PCIT deck). Illustrative instruction: "Please put the red car in the box."
• Watch for: chains of instructions, vague instructions ("be good"), and repeating the instruction instead of following through. Compliance should rise once instructions improve, sometimes before time-out is ever needed.
• [source: Rogers PCIT deck; CBT+ handout; Zolten & Long]

4.4 Choosing and preparing the time-out spot

• Purpose: a dull, safe place that the parent can see.
• Steps:
  1. Use a straight-backed adult chair or a step, in the same room or nearby. Not a soft or valuable seat.
  2. Remove toys, screens and breakables from the area. Keep it away from windows and siblings.
  3. Keep it well lit. Never use a closet or a locked room.
  4. If a back-up space is used (see 4.10), clear it of hazards and of entertainment. Bedrooms are usually unsuitable because they contain too much to do.
  5. In public, choose a substitute spot such as a bench, step or corner. Never leave the child unattended.
• Watch for: a spot the child enjoys (time-out stops working), or one the child finds frightening (stop and review).
• [source: Zolten & Long; CBT+ handout; Dadds dos & don'ts; PCIT International]

4.5 Explaining and rehearsing time-out with the child

• Purpose: make time-out predictable and reduce fear. Teach the rules while the child is calm.
• Steps:
  1. At a calm moment, explain at the child's level which behaviours lead to time-out.
  2. Explain the two rules: stay seated, and be quiet or calm until the parent says time-out is over.
  3. Demonstrate with a stuffed animal, a puppet or the other caregiver.
  4. Walk the child through a pretend time-out, and praise them for doing it.
  5. Ask the child to say the steps back.
  6. IY variant: use the turtle puppet to model withdrawing into its shell, breathing and returning to try again. Present time-out as a break to calm down.
• Example language (illustrative): "Teddy hit his sister, so Teddy sits on the chair until Mum says he can get up. Teddy is sitting quietly, good job, Teddy. Now your turn to show me."
• Watch for: the child treating rehearsal as a game is fine. Real time-outs will still be dull. The child should be able to name at least one target behaviour.
• [source: Zolten & Long; Dadds dos & don'ts; Webster-Stratton; CBT+ handout]

4.6 The warning (non-compliance)

• Purpose: give the child one clear chance to comply. This makes time-out predictable and avoidable.
• Steps:
  1. After about 5 seconds of non-compliance, give one warning that names the instruction and the consequence.
  2. Wait about 5 more seconds.
  3. If the child complies, give labelled praise. If not, go to 4.7.
  4. Never give a second warning.
• Example language (illustrative): "If you don't put the car in the box, you'll have to sit on the time-out chair."
• Watch for: repeated warnings or bargaining, which teach the child to wait until the last chance. Compliance after the warning should become common within a few weeks.
• [source: Rogers PCIT deck; CBT+ handout; Zolten & Long]

4.7 Sending to time-out

• Purpose: carry out the consequence calmly and without attention.
• Steps:
  1. In one calm, firm sentence, name the reason and say the child is going to time-out.
  2. Lead the child to the chair, by the hand if needed. Do not talk on the way.
  3. Ignore protests, promises and excuses.
  4. For aggression or a house-rule break, skip the warning and act immediately (see 4.12).
  5. Physical guidance stays gentle. If a child must be carried, carry them facing away from you, briefly. Never use restraint.
• Example language (illustrative): "You didn't put the car away, so you have to sit on the time-out chair." Then, once the child is seated: "Stay on the chair until I say you can get up."
• Watch for: the parent's voice rising, lecturing, or a struggle on the way. These turn time-out into attention. With practice the child should walk to the chair on their own.
• [source: Zolten & Long; CBT+ handout; Rogers PCIT deck] [synthesis: "never use restraint"]

4.8 Planned ignoring during time-out

• Purpose: remove social reinforcement during time-out.
• Steps:
  1. No talking, no eye contact and a neutral face. The parent keeps an eye on the child but appears busy, or goes about normal activities nearby.
  2. Ignore crying, protests, insults and requests (including requests for the toilet).
  3. Siblings must not interact with the child. A sibling who does goes to time-out too.
  4. Respond only to (a) leaving the chair (see 4.10) or (b) real danger.
• Example language: none during time-out (by design).
• Watch for: an extinction burst, where protest gets louder at first. It usually shrinks over successive time-outs. Intervene immediately for self-injury or danger. [synthesis: managing self-injury]
• [source: Zolten & Long; CBT+ handout; Webster-Stratton]

4.9 Duration and release

• Purpose: keep time-out short and make release depend on brief calm, not on protest.
• Steps by version:
  • PCIT: 3 minutes on the chair, plus 5 seconds of quiet, before release.
  • Barkley: about 1 minute per year of age, plus roughly 30 seconds of quiet, plus the child agreeing to do what was asked. [uncertain: via Quetsch summary]
  • Zolten & Long: 1 minute per year of age, up to 5 minutes. Start a timer only once the child is seated and quiet, and restart it if the child makes noise.
  • IY: about 3–5 minutes. The child comes out once calm.
  • Dadds: about 2 minutes of sitting quietly.
  • Research: a fixed 4-minute time-out worked as well as one with a quiet requirement (Donaldson & Vollmer 2011). 15 minutes is the suggested upper limit.
• Release: the parent approaches and ends the time-out. In PCIT the parent goes straight back to the original instruction (4.11).
• Example language (illustrative): "Time-out is over."
• Watch for: very long quiet requirements that turn into marathons. Choose a short quiet criterion. If time-outs regularly run long, review time-in and how time-out is being delivered.
• [source: Rogers PCIT deck; Zolten & Long; Webster-Stratton; Dadds dos & don'ts; Wikipedia for Donaldson & Vollmer 2011; Quetsch et al. 2015]

4.10 Back-up for leaving the chair

• Purpose: teach the child to stay in the chair, using the least restrictive back-up that works.
• Options by version:
  • PCIT back-up space. When the child first gets off the chair, give one warning that leaving again means the back-up space. If the child gets off again, the parent takes the child to the back-up space for 1 minute plus 5 seconds of quiet, then back to the chair to restart the chair time.
    • The back-up space must be safe, lit and boring.
    • The parent stays close, within about two feet according to Quetsch et al., and never locks it.
    • The need for it should fade once the child learns to stay seated.
  • Return and restart (CBT+ handout; Zolten & Long). Give one warning, then return the child to the chair and restart the timer every time they get up. Say one firm word at most.
  • Loss of a privilege or other non-exclusion back-up (Quetsch et al. 2015 list privilege restriction as an alternative). Remove a specific privilege for the rest of the day instead of using a back-up room. This suits older children or children with trauma histories.
  • [uncertain] Newer PCIT protocol versions describe an alternative "swoop and go" back-up, in which the parent removes toys and leaves the room briefly. This is [uncertain]. Check the current PCIT International protocol before using it.
• Example language (illustrative): "If you get off the chair again, you'll go to the back-up room."
• Watch for: fear, panic or dissociation in the back-up space. Stop using it and switch to a privilege back-up. Quetsch et al. warn that back-up rooms may be too intense for children with histories of neglect or seclusion.
• [source: PCIT International; Rogers PCIT deck; CBT+ handout; Zolten & Long; Quetsch et al. 2015]

4.11 Follow-through to the original instruction and reconnection

• Purpose: stop time-out from becoming an escape from demands, then restore warmth.
• Steps:
  1. After a time-out for non-compliance, ask whether the child is ready to do the original instruction, or simply restate it.
  2. If the child complies, give a brief neutral acknowledgement. PCIT uses the word "Fine" (Rogers PCIT deck). Then give a second, easy instruction and praise compliance with it enthusiastically.
  3. If the child still refuses, the time-out sequence repeats.
  4. Return to time-in quickly with warm attention, touch and play.
  5. Do not rehash the incident or demand an apology (IY). Praise the next appropriate behaviour.
• Example language (illustrative): "Are you ready to put the car in the box?" ... "Thank you for putting the cup on the table, that was quick listening!"
• Watch for: a parent who stays cold or lectures afterwards. Most children rejoin play within minutes. Lingering sulking warrants review of the parent's tone. [synthesis]
• [source: Rogers PCIT deck; CBT+ handout; Webster-Stratton; Dadds dos & don'ts; Zolten & Long]

4.12 House rules (time-out without a warning)

• Purpose: respond immediately to aggression and other serious behaviours.
• Steps:
  1. Agree no more than about three house rules, such as hitting, destroying property or swearing.
  2. Explain them to the child at a calm time.
  3. When a house rule is broken, send the child straight to time-out with no warning (4.7–4.11).
  4. Add a new rule only after the current ones are working.
• Example language (illustrative): "You hit, so you go to time-out."
• Watch for: rules creeping into a long list. Aggression should drop within a few weeks.
• [source: CBT+ handout; Zolten & Long; Webster-Stratton]

4.13 Calm-down (self-regulation) variant

• Purpose: frame time-out as a chance to regain control, and teach self-calming. This is the IY emphasis.
• Steps:
  1. Teach the turtle routine with a puppet: go into the shell, take deep breaths, use calming self-talk or a "happy place" image, then come out and try again.
  2. Practise when calm. The parent models their own calm-down.
  3. Use time-out for aggression, destruction and highly conflictual non-compliance, keeping it about 3–5 minutes.
  4. The adult stays nearby.
  5. Allow the child to choose a calm-down break themselves, and praise them for it.
• Example language (illustrative): "You chose to go to your calm-down spot. That was brave. Ready to try again?"
• Watch for: the child using breaks to escape tasks. If so, they must still complete the task afterwards. [synthesis]
• [source: Webster-Stratton IY paper]

4.14 Public settings

• Purpose: generalise time-out beyond home.
• Steps:
  1. Start only once time-out works smoothly at home.
  2. Rehearse before the outing.
  3. Choose a substitute spot (a bench, a step, a quiet corner, or the car with the adult present), never leaving the child alone.
  4. If a public time-out is impractical, give a brief delayed consequence at home. [uncertain/synthesis]
• Example language (illustrative): "Same rules in the shop. If you don't keep your hands on the trolley, you'll sit on the bench."
• Watch for: the parent's embarrassment leading to giving in. Plan a short first trip as practice.
• [source: Zolten & Long; Rogers PCIT deck]

4.15 Developmental adaptations

• Toddlers (about 18 months to 3 years):
  • Use simple words, pointing and gentle hand-over-hand guidance for instructions.
  • For aggression, use about 1 minute in a safe spot such as a high chair, with the adult right there.
  • Under 2, do not use time-out for non-compliance.
  • AAIMH advises against time-out under age 3 and recommends time-in. Here that means calmly removing the child from the situation while staying with them.
  • Quetsch et al. and Zolten & Long describe use from about 18 months to 2 years. [uncertain: sources conflict on the youngest age; name the source you follow]
• Ages 7–10:
  • Give an explanation, then about 45 seconds of planned ignoring ("big ignore") as a first step, then a warning, then time-out.
  • A sticker chart can be added.
  • For older children, privilege loss usually replaces chair time-out. [source: Quetsch et al. 2015] [synthesis: privilege loss for older children]
• Autism and developmental delay: check that time-out actually removes reinforcement. If the child prefers being alone, time-out will reinforce the behaviour. Always complete the original demand. [source: Quetsch et al. 2015] [synthesis: preference for being alone]
• [source: AAIMH via Wikipedia; Quetsch et al. 2015; Zolten & Long; Webster-Stratton]

4.16 Parent self-regulation during time-out

• Purpose: keep the parent calm, since parental anger is the main route from time-out to harm.
• Steps:
  1. Rehearse calming in session: turn away, breathe slowly, use calming self-talk or a calming image.
  2. If needed, step away for 30–60 seconds while keeping the child in sight.
  3. Debrief hard episodes at the next session.
• Example language (illustrative), parent's self-talk: "This is the hard part. Quiet and calm, it will pass."
• Watch for: shouting, rough handling or longer time-outs given as revenge. Pause time-out and work on the parent's regulation.
• [source: CBT+ handout; Webster-Stratton]

4.17 In-session coaching and monitoring

• Purpose: build the parent's skill while the therapist is present, and track how well it is working.
• Steps:
  1. Coach the first time-outs live in the clinic, prompting each step through an earpiece or from beside the parent. The parent, not the therapist, places the child.
  2. Before the first real use, make sure the child understands the procedure.
  3. Parents keep a home log of date, behaviour, duration and any back-up used.
  4. Review the log every week.
  5. IY adds check-in phone calls in the first week.
• Example coaching (illustrative): "Neutral face... say nothing... watch the clock... now walk over and tell her time-out is over."
• Watch for: log frequency should fall over weeks. Flat or rising rates suggest time-in is too thin or time-out is being used inconsistently.
• [source: PCIT International; Webster-Stratton; Dadds dos & don'ts]

4.18 Classroom and school adaptations (clinician advising teachers)

• Purpose: support teachers' use of brief time-out within a positive behaviour plan.
• Steps:
  1. Use a chair or calm-down area inside the classroom, within the teacher's view.
  2. Keep it brief. Rehearse the routine with the whole class.
  3. Return the child to the task afterwards. Reinforce the class for ignoring the child in time-out.
  4. Never use locked, unsupervised or separate seclusion rooms. Check local seclusion law and policy. [synthesis; uncertain: IY Teacher Classroom Management handouts]
• Watch for: time-out turning into exclusion from learning, or being used for academic difficulty. Time-out for unfinished work or crying is misuse.
• [source: Wikipedia (school misuse); Webster-Stratton; Quetsch et al. 2015]

5. Handling problems

Tags show which responses come from the sources and which are [synthesis].

• Protest gets worse at first (extinction burst).
  • Warn parents in advance that crying and protest will intensify before they decrease.
  • Plan for the parent to stay calm through it (4.16).
  • Expect the burst to shrink across successive time-outs. [source: Zolten & Long; CBT+ handout]
• Child refuses to go to the chair.
  • Use gentle guidance by the hand, without talking.
  • For a child too big to guide, use a privilege-loss back-up instead. Never wrestle the child. [source: Zolten & Long; Quetsch et al.] [synthesis: no wrestling]
• Child keeps leaving the chair.
  • Use the chosen back-up (4.10) consistently.
  • If leaving persists for more than a few days, review the procedure in session. Zolten & Long advise consulting a health provider at this point.
  • Check that time-in is rich enough. [source: Zolten & Long; PCIT International]
• Time-out is not working, or the child seems to like it.
  • Check whether the spot has toys, screens or attention, including siblings watching.
  • Check that the original demand is followed up afterwards.
  • Check that time-in is rich enough.
  • For escape-maintained behaviour, insist on completing the original instruction. [source: Quetsch et al.; Dadds dos & don'ts]
• Time-outs getting longer and longer.
  • Shorten the quiet criterion to a few seconds, or switch to a fixed 3–4 minutes. A fixed duration worked as well as a release contingency in trials. [source: Donaldson & Vollmer 2011 via Wikipedia]
• Non-adherence and inconsistency.
  • Use a daily log and role-play the sequence until the parent can run it without hesitation.
  • Reduce targets to one or two behaviours.
  • Get every caregiver into at least one session.
  • Track barriers: time pressure, shame in public, disagreement between carers. [source: Zolten & Long; Xu, Tully & Dadds 2024] [synthesis: barrier tracking]
• Parent anger or maltreatment risk.
  • If a parent shouts, handles the child roughly or uses isolation punitively, pause time-out.
  • Go back to time-in skills and parent self-regulation work.
  • Assess safety and follow local child-protection procedures if harm is disclosed. [source: Webster-Stratton; CBT+ handout] [synthesis: safeguarding step]
• Parent objects on attachment grounds (e.g. after reading critics).
  • Explain the distinction drawn by Dadds and colleagues: brief, calm, predictable, explained time-out within warm time-in, versus harsh or rejecting isolation.
  • Offer the calm-down framing (4.13), or a time-in alternative for very young children.
  • Respect the parent's choice. Planned ignoring plus privilege loss is an option. [source: Dadds & Tully 2019; Xu, Tully & Dadds 2024; Webster-Stratton] [synthesis: the menu]
• Child with a trauma or neglect history.
  • Decide case by case.
  • Use the chair in the same room, with no back-up room.
  • Explain time-out thoroughly and rehearse it many times.
  • Watch for freezing, dissociation or panic. If you see these, stop and use co-regulation or time-in, then reassess. [source: Quetsch et al.; Webster-Stratton; Dadds & Tully abstract] [synthesis: signs to watch]
• Separation anxiety.
  • Do not use time-out for behaviour driven by separation fear.
  • Treat the fear with graded exposure (a "bravery ladder") instead. [source: Rogers PCIT deck]
• Self-injury or dangerous behaviour in time-out.
  • End the ignoring and secure safety immediately.
  • Then reassess the function of the behaviour and how suitable time-out is, with specialist input if needed. [synthesis]
• Toilet requests and other needs.
  • The CBT+ handout treats requests during time-out as attention-seeking to be ignored.
  • With young children, real needs (pain, fear, toileting) come first. Address genuine needs, then resume the procedure. [source: CBT+ handout; Webster-Stratton] [synthesis: reconciling the two]
• Siblings interfering.
  • Siblings who interact with a child in time-out receive time-out themselves.
  • Praise siblings who ignore it. [source: Zolten & Long] [synthesis: praise]
• Rupture between therapist and parent (the parent feels blamed or judged).
  • Acknowledge how hard extinction bursts are.
  • Normalise mistakes and review a recent episode collaboratively.
  • Revisit the parent's own goals. [synthesis]
• School asks you to endorse a seclusion room.
  • Explain that classroom time-out stays in view, is brief and is unlocked.
  • Locked or unsupervised seclusion is outside the procedure and is restricted in many jurisdictions. Check local law. [source: Wikipedia (school misuse)] [uncertain: specific regulations]
• Cultural acceptability.
  • Explore the family's discipline beliefs.
  • Adapt the wording, for example "calm-down chair". Keep the active ingredients: brevity, consistency, low attention and follow-through. [synthesis]

Sources

Sources:

• Time-out (parenting) – Wikipedia
• PCIT International Task Force: Position statement on the use of time-out
• Rogers Behavioral Health: PCIT Adaptations for Anxiety Treatment (webinar slides, 2021)
• Webster-Stratton: Incredible Years Time Out Works Because of Quality of Time In
• Incredible Years library: Dadds & Tully (2019) abstract
• Quetsch, Wallace, Herschell & McNeil (2015): Weighing in on the time-out controversy
• University of Sydney: Time-out dos and don'ts (Dadds)
• CBT+ Time-Out handout (University of Washington)
• Zolten & Long, Center for Effective Parenting: Time-out handout
• Xu, Tully & Dadds (2024): Generation time-out grows up
• Wolf, Risley & Mees (1964) summary, neurodiversity.net

Further reading (not drawn on unless listed above):

• Staats, A. W., et al. (1962). Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 5(1).
• Wolf, M. M., Risley, T., & Mees, H. (1964). Application of operant conditioning procedures to the behaviour problems of an autistic child. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 1, 305–312.
• Eyberg, S., & Funderburk, B. (2011). Parent-Child Interaction Therapy Protocol. PCIT International. [uncertain]
• Barkley, R. A. (2013). Defiant Children: A Clinician's Manual for Assessment and Parent Training (3rd ed.). Guilford. [uncertain]
• Webster-Stratton, C. (2006). The Incredible Years: A Trouble-Shooting Guide for Parents of Children Aged 3–8. [uncertain]
• Dadds, M. R., & Tully, L. A. (2019). What is it to discipline a child: What should it be? American Psychologist, 74. [abstract only]
• Donaldson, J. M., & Vollmer, T. R. (2011). Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 44(4). [via secondary]
• Australian Association for Infant Mental Health (2009). Position Paper 3: Time Out. [via secondary]