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How do you handle it when your toddler laughs at time out?

My 2 year old son laughs when we put him in time out. After half an hour of repeatedly putting him back into time out so he'd stay for his 2 mins my husband finally had to go sit with him in timeout. It was ridiculous. He just kept jumping up and laughing at me. I definately don't want it to turn into 'just wait til your father gets home...' Does anyone elses 2 year old do this? How do you handle it?

Public Comments

1. your husband is just feeding into his behavior he should not sit with him, if you keep putting him in there and keep doing it he will get the point. and what is wrong with a good old fashion spanking? if time outs are not working then start spanking. My zoe did the same thing time outs never worked on her I had to resort in the cornor and spanking her and she got the point. and as for laughing and stuff you ignore it, he is trying to get a rise out of you
2. Completely ignore him like he isnt even there make him stay there for at least 3 mins. Dont even look at him.
3. strap him in a high chair turned toward a corner he wont laugh when he has no choice but to sit there he thinks its a game
4. We use the booster chair facing a blank wall when the time outs don't work. This way you can strap him in and he stays put. If the reason why he is getting into trouble is because of something he is playing with that he isn't supposed to or is playing with improperly, we place it up just out of his reach where he can still see it. That works better than time outs sometimes.
5. you need a time out chair and face him in the corner. if that doesnt work, try a highchair or car seat, with straps to keep him in place, and face him in the corner.
6. can a two year old actually understand he is being punished? I never did time out especially at 2 ... I don't think a toddler does something bad or tries to upset you intentionally they are still learning and exploring..
7. Sometimes you have to nip it in the bud very soon like a spanking on the butt usually hurts their pride more than anything. It speaks louder than words and silliness to keep your attention. Time out never worked for me either and became a circus of laughing or arguing. Parents don't like to spank either but it is not abuse. It is correcting and telling them no they can't do what ever they were mischievously doing. Once they learn that you mean business they usually respond so much better. Especially when they are young they are going to do all the things they shouldn't get into because they are curious. But you will teach them their boundaries with a little swat on the bumper and they'll get the idea so much easier than making a game of laughing at you. Yes all 2 yr old children go through this stage and you have to be keen on teaching them quickly. They usually are very adaptive in a short time and spanking is not always necessary. Good Luck on your little sweet child.
8. Ignore the behaviour, go into another room if you have to. My daughter can get the same way in time out so we started her sitting in the corner but facing the corner. Every time she turns around we just turn her back to face the corner.
9. Time outs are not developmentally appropriate for toddlers they don't understand they think it is a game.
10. IGNORE him. Let him laugh. He's still sitting in a chair on timeout. Timeout is the punishment, he doesn't have to sit there and cry about it. We have a rule that we got from Nanny 911: When the child is on time-out, you don't speak to them, you don't acknowledge anything they say or do, and if they get UP from timeout, you put them back and start the timer over. You do not sit there or hold him down. You put him in the chair, set the timer and walk away. If he gets up, you start the process over again. If it takes 30 minutes of him getting up and starting timeouts over, then so be it. He'll eventually learn. Never, ever, ever say, "Wait until your father gets home." Why would you make your child think that what his father says or does is more important than what you say or do? You and your husband are equals. Discipline your child without including a threat of your husband. Worked for us!