How long should a 16 month old be in time out?

My son got in trouble at daycare for climbing and was in time out for a long period of time. My in-home daycare person is pregnant right now and it seems she's gotten more irritated with all the kids moreso than usual.





Being in the first trimester, you feel sick, you're tired, and irritable (sometimes) and I think that it's affecting how she treats the kids, mine in particular.





I could be wrong, and hopefully so, but I'm not one of those loony Mommy's that freaks over everything. I'm fairly laid back and I consider myself to be fair. I try to put myself in the other's shoes before freaking on anything.





Well my son was in time out for 2 hrs. Because he wouldn't sit still, she kept extending it. Yesterday he was in for 30 mins. In the high chair since he wouldn't stay put.





We'll be changing daycare soon because we're moving. But should we try and do this sooner before the move due to all of this?





What are your thoughts on this?

How long should a 16 month old be in time out?
In general a child should be in time out one minute for every year of there age. For example if they are two years old, then they would be in time out for two minutes. A child under two shouldn't be left in time out for more that a minute. Two hours is WAY too long. Kids this age aren't developmentally capable of sitting still for even short periods of time. Maybe just bringing this to your daycare providers attentions would solve the problem. If not, I would absolutely find someplace else.
Reply:WTF? 2 hours for a time out? Sounds like a lazy *** daycare provider. Report It

Reply:That's excessive and ridiculous. Absolutely not. Rule of thumb regarding time out: 1 minute per year of age. To a child that age, 1 minute seems like an eternity. Any longer, and they've forgotten why they were there in the first place. If my daycare put my daughter in timeout for 2 hours OR 30 minutes, I'd not take her back again.





Also, in my opinion, 16 months is too young for a timeout.
Reply:16 month olds shouldn't be in time out- they don't even know what that means!!
Reply:By law its 1 minute per year of age. 16 months would be 1 minute and 20 seconds,and some one should sit with babie explaining why this needs to be done.anything over this is considered child abuse.
Reply:This daycare should be turned in, if she is treating your child like this she is others as well. What kind of parent will she be?? He should only be in time out for 1 min, but at 16 months that is an impossible task. Move your son immediatly Good Luck
Reply:I'd have to wonder if a 16 month old can even understand what time out is or why he is getting it.





Seems like the whole idea of time out is kind of rediculous at that age. I don't know many kids that age that could grasp the concept of sitting still either. Even at an older age, two hours would be excessive for something like not sitting still.





Yes, you need a new child care provider asap - and she may need some day care herself. The phrase "babies in charge of babies" comes to mind.
Reply:You need to find yourself another daycare for your child. Time out for a 16 month old is ridiculous. They do not understand this concept yet.....and, it is very normal for young kids to climb and move around a lot. Your daycare person needs to retire for now and have her baby......her punishments do not match the age of the child.
Reply:5-10 minutes. Time for a new day care.
Reply:2 hours is borderline child abuse, really. I mean, I doubt there could be any charges filed, but it would certainly be grounds for me to immediately remove my son from her care. If she lets you know she did that, what sort of things is she doing and NOT telling you about?





I'm sorry that she's pregnant, irritable, and nauseaus, but caring for these children is her WORK, and if she worked in an office or something, she would be expected to continue working at the same level, regardless of pregnanct.





An appropriate length of time for a 16-month old is 1 to 2 minutes. My son is 25 months, and he is still in the 2 minute time-frame. If he wiggles in the chair, that doesn't make me extend the time, either. He only gets it extended if he gets down out of the chair. I mean, of course he's not going to sit still! He's a toddler, not a block of stone!





As for being a climber, my son is definately one of those! He learned how to climb the baby gate before he was a year old. The only thing we do special is we gave him strict limits on what he is absolutely not allowed to climb on, like the table, the bookshelves, the arms of the couches. Basically, places that he could easily get hurt on. We have a swingset outside (but can only use it occasionally in the current cold weather), and we purchased an inflatable bouncer (walmart, $40) for inside the house. He loves to jump in it, and that gets a lot of energy out.





A friend of my family's recently took her daughter out of an in-home daycare, and moved her daughter to a regular daycare. The first daycare lady had given her daughter a spanking that left red marks on the girls bottom. Our friend had no idea how many spankings this lady might have given their daughter (she's only 3, so can't exactly ask her to try and remember), but they yanked her out right away.
Reply:Never take your child to that daycare provider again. 2 hrs of timeout is unheard of. They recommend one minute of time out per a childs age. Climbing is a normal activity for toddlers. I too have a home daycare provider and she would do many things to entertain the kids with outside play time, and inside with pillows, boxes and tents. This is insane. If she needed for the child to stay put she could put him/her in a playpen or block off a safe area of the house. But mine won't keep the kids in playpens longer then 15-30 mins. They need to explore and play.





No 16 month old stays put unless they are sleeping or eating and you should not want them too. If what you said she did is true then you should report her to the authorities.
Reply:timeouts for be 1 minute for however old the child is.


so since your child is 16 mths then 1 minute is all.....no kid can sit still for 2 hrs and the child should not be restrained.
Reply:Ok 2 hrs is way too long for a 16mth old.
Reply:a 16 month old should be in timeout for two mins MAX. a min is actually the recommended time. you should find a new babysitter. honestly
Reply:Change your daycare NOW! Rule of thumb children are only supposed to be in time outs 1 minute per year (age). At most your child shouldn't be in time out for over 5 or 10 minutes. The longer you try to make a toddler sit still the more frustrated YOU will be! If he's a climber it shouldn't matter. Most professional day cares usually don't have things for them to climb on and if they use something to climb on the attendant should refocus the child's attention and get him down off whatever he/she is standing on.
Reply:this "teacher" needs to be reported. This is not a funny situation -- 2 hours for a 1 year old child is beyond excessive. If she cannot work while pregnant, she should stay home, not take her feeling ill out on innocent little ones. REPORT HER IMMEDIATELY, and if the Day Care refuses to do anything change Day Cares and file a complaint with the better business bureau and the licensing agent of Day Care in your state.
Reply:wow that is crazy you should change now because who knows what else she is doing he should only be in time out for 1 to 2 mins. and you should say something to her boss because this is abuse his attention span is only for like 4 mins. at his age,, i donno i would go crazy
Reply:OMG


I consider this almost like abuse!


At 16 months a child is esentially still a BABY, they haven't quite figured out consequence yet, and in any case 2 hours is not appropriate for a child of ANY age! I feel so bad for your little boy!


I have a 19 month old, he gets a ONE MINUTE timeout, and that is only because he has shown that he understands things like "no touching". And sitting "still" during the time out is not reasonable for a child under 3. For my son, he gets time out in the playpen. 16 month-old are wiggly and don't have the ability to even understand what a time out IS let alone be punished for nothing more than being 16 months old!





Sorry I know I am ranting, but if I were you I would never bring my child back to that person. What's next?
Reply:OK, to answer your question is a child who is 12-23 months should be in time out for no more than 1 min. The rule of thumb is the age of your child is should be the number of minutes time out should be. 2 hours is a bit long. I would move him ASAP if your able to! I am a mom of 4 and have done in home childcare before. Regardless if she is pregnant or not is not a reason! If you are into reading I can suggest 2 different books one which is 1-2-3 Magic and the other one is Boundaries for kids.


I wish you the best of luck!
Reply:That is WAY too long! It should be a minute per year of age.


This seems like a bad place for your child to be right now. I get that the caretaker is pregnant and irritable, but so are all the other women out there who seem to do it everyday.


Trying to make a toddler be quiet or still for long periods of time is just crazy. Their little brains aren't developed, they have no sense of time, after two minutes, they don't even remember why they are in time out. I would talk with some of the other moms who use the same caretaker.


I think it's time for you to find another day care for the moment. This woman is obviously overwhelmed and your child is in danger of being neglected, forgotten and not enriched AT ALL.



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