If you've ever watched Jo Frost, a.k.a. "Supernanny", then you know she's a big fan of "the naughty spot." In layman's langauge, it's a boring, uninteresting place in your home where you can send your child for time out. Pick somewhere where they can't be entertained, can't play with their toys, can't see the TV, etc... etc.... Imprisoning your child in a dark closet is NOT recommended, but you should park your kid somewhere that will create an experience akin to watching corn grow in Dodge, Nebraska.
On a side note, there really is a town called Dodge, Nebraska (population 681), and I'm wondering if this town is the origin of the phrase "Get the hell out of Dodge". Pix of Dodge below.
The object of said naughty spot, is of course to deter undesirable behavior. Child misbehaves -> child sent to naughty spot -> child bored out of skull in naughy spot -> child quits misbehavior.
So it struck me that there might be a teensy tiny flaw with this technique when yesterday, Lily voluntarily sent herself to the naughty spot - FOR NO REASON AT ALL. And THEN asked me to set the timer so she knew when to leave the naughty spot. I humored her, and set it for 4 minutes. And then after the timer went off, she decided she wanted to stay there EVEN LONGER.
I'm thinking the naughty spot might be losing its effectiveness as a discipline tool.
It's just another in the litany of examples that demonstrate Lily is immune to various "expert" proscribed discipline methods. But it's obviously still working for Jo Frost and a legion of other parents out there. There's even a company out there whose sole business it is to make money off children's time outs: http://www.timeoutspots.com/time-out-spots-shop.html.
Maybe I should try time outs in reverse. The next time Lily misbehaves, I won't discipline her. I'll put myself in time out instead. I'll go to the naughty spot. The "experts" recommend 1 minute for every year of age for time out. 38 minutes of peace and quiet? Bring it on!
I might even get of the time-out-spots spots. The pink one looked kind of nice, doncha think?
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