Parents are always searching for ways to teach.  Time outs work well for some, but not others.  For particularly persistent young children, the time out seems to just engage the parent and child in a power struggle to stay in the time out space.  In the end, the time out situation does not work for the read purpose, to teach and to give a time to regroup.

So here are some suggestions to try if time out just isn’t doing it for you and your child. 

1.  Logical Consequences – If you are trying to extinguish a behavior such as hitting, grabbing, whining, then the logical consequence sometimes works.  If the behavior occurs, then you help the child to leave the situation.  Make sure that you are giving clear instructions prior to the situations so that the child clearly understands what you expect.  Then once the behavior occurs, simply remove them from the situation.  No talking about it.
2. Re-grouping for expending energy – If you are trying to help with energy that is “over the top”, running, pushing, wrestling, in the house, then redirect.  This means giving the child something to throw, pound, run that is more appropriate.   

As your child grows, they will need different behavioral intervention.  Be kind to yourself and recognize that children push the boundaries because they do not yet know how to behave.  They are not “bad” but are displaying behavior that can be replaced by more socially appropriate responses as they grow.  Many parents struggle with unwanted child behaviors.  If you are struggling, see your speech language pathologist or teacher for help.