FAQs

Q. How often should I use a time-out?

A. That depends on your children and your family situation. It is important to remember that time-outs are generally a last resort for helping correct inappropriate behaviour. Please consider the other positive parenting suggestions on page 4, and don’t forget to use the ‘Five steps to successful time-outs’.  If all goes well, time-outs should over time correct inappropriate behaviour, at least until the child hits the teenage years… 

Q. When is a time-out not appropriate?

A. Childcare experts agree that time-outs should not be used for punishing children for having ‘big feelings’ such as extreme distress, pain, fear or rage. These types of big emotional issues will probably be better handled using parental support, hugs and talking through issues, rather than pushing the child away onto the naughty step. Time-outs work best when the child is being naughty and they know they are being naughty. When they overstep the boundaries and refuse to behave even after the two warnings, then the time-out is the best course of action.

Q. How long should a time-out last?

A. Most experts recommend one minute for every year of the child’s life, ie. 3 minutes for a three year old and so on. Our son William (at time of going to press) is two and a half years old and we set the  timer to three minutes, which works very well. The Time Out Pad™ runs from between one to five minutes, which covers children up to the age of five or six years old. We don’t recommend using the Time Out Pad™ for more than 5 minutes at a time. 

Q. On what age of child can time-outs be used?

A. We have not come across any children over the age of six using time-outs and sitting on the naughty steps. Older children do of course get sent to their bedrooms, but the Time Out Pad™ is more designed for 2 – 5 year olds – the ‘terrible toddlers’ who are learning where the boundaries are and what behaviour is deemed OK and not OK. 

Q. Can my child change the time setting once the countdown has started?

A. No, once the countdown is in progress the timer will run for the chosen number of minutes. A child would need a coin to change the time setting, so it would be best anyway to keep coins away from the child during their time-out! 

Q. What happens if my child sits staring at the traffic lights?

A. No problem. The Time Out Pad™ has been carefully designed to be functional, but not too fun and certainly not like a toy. However, if the child is fascinated by the lights, then anything that helps to distract them from the bad behaviour that helped land them on the Time Out Pad™, is a good thing. As they get used to the Time Out Pad™ , the novelty of the lights will wear off, it will get boring, which is also a good thing! As long you follow the ‘Five Steps to successful time-outs’, then the child will know why they are on the Time Out Pad™, whether they are looking the lights or not. 

Q. What happens if my child gets off the Time Out Pad™ during the countdown?

A. If the child gets off the pad, the pressure sensitive electronics inside the Pad will know the child has got off, triggering an alarm to sound and the red light to flash. At this point, the countdown is paused until the child sits back down again. If your child repeatedly gets off the Time Out Pad™ and runs away, it may be wise to re-set the countdown and start again. Tell them in a firm voice that they will not be able to go back to what they were doing until they have had their time-out! 

Q. Is my Time Out Pad™ waterproof?

A. No – it will cease to function if the electronics get wet. However the Pad is designed to be wipe clean, so if your child has just covered himself in chocolate after being asked twice not to, them the chocolate will wipe off the Pad.

Q. My Time Out Pad™ has stopped working – what do I do?

A. Assuming you pressed the Start button and nothing works, first check and replace the two AA batteries. If the Time Out Pad™ does still not work and is less than a year old, then please return the whole unit to the retailer you bought it from, along with a proof of purchase and they will arrange with us for a replacement. Unless you bought it from our mail order business, Bump to 3, please do not send a faulty Time Out Pad™ back to us. Sorry if you have had a problem. 

Q. I like the tune that is played at the end of the time-out – does it have any words to go with it?!

A. Of course, we wrote the tune and we have words that go like this: “Now that your time-out is over and finished. Time to say sorry and go back to play!”

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