Today, Johnny Angel was sitting on my bed, and he asked for some soy milk. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I brought him a little bit in his cup. Of course, he dumped it all on my bed. I grabbed a towel, and I was telling him, "Jack! You should not spill your milk. It's wasteful, and it makes a mess. It makes Mommy very unhappy when you do that." I had intended to just have him "help" me clean up, but he heard my stern tone and he said, "Timeout." So I put him in timeout, and he actually stayed in his timeout corner for the full time. I told him to tell Mommy "sorry," and he did.Later that afternoon, Johnny Angel was sitting on my lap, playing with a toy phone, which he used to smack me. I told him, "Jack! No hitting! You do not hit Mommy. You are gentle with Mommy." And he said to me, "Timeout." So into the timeout spot again for another minute, although this time I actually had to sit in front of him so he wouldn't walk away. I told him to tell Mommy "sorry," and he did.
Then we went downstairs, and Johnny Angel went right up to Echo and yanked his tail. This time, Mommy initiated the timeout. Again, I had to sit in front of him so he wouldn't just take off. He tried to tickle me the entire time. I told him to tell Echo "sorry," and he finally did after several promptings.
So does a timeout "count" as discipline if he's the one who suggests it? Or does that just mean that he knows he was naughty and that he knows timeouts are what happens when he's naughty? Maybe I should find that encouraging, although I admit it's hard to see it that way when we're on our third timeout of the day.
I'm not sure I think timeouts are effective disciplinary tools for my Johnny Angel. I may need to find another way to clip his wings.
Johnny Angel... You're an angel to me...
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