Reply #54: I tried timeouts [View All]

[neebob]

but quickly gave up, realizing I couldn't make them stick without the situation escalating beyond my comfort level. There was always a point where I had to stop.

Maybe my son was just extra strong willed, but I found that just acting like, "Oh, I see you still haven't figured out that that's not going to work," letting him know his behavior was inappropriate, and going about my business until he got over it was the only way to avoid something I wouldn't feel good about.

There were a couple of years where I avoided restaurants and timed my trips to the grocery store to coincide with my son's times with his dad. And if we were out in public and he threw a tantrum I would just grit my teeth, carry him to the car, and buckle him into his car seat with his arms and legs flailing and him screaming, "I'm gonna tell my dad!" It must have worked on Dad's girlfriend.

"Yeah, you do that," I would say, and just drive until the flailing and screaming stopped. If I had a dollar for every time I did that, I could buy us both a very nice dinner.