Time Out

Lately my house has been mad chaos. My husband went back to work after being laid off for two months. My babies have been teething and are on the move, learning to explore things they shouldn't.  All my kids have colds.  The weather is cool and rainy and we've been couped up in the house. I feel someone is either crying, screaming, laughing, whining, talking or wanting something every moment from 5:07am - 6:55pm.  {I guess that's what I get with having 4 kids} Not to mention this is the busiest time for me workwise.

So, I've been wanting to give myself time outs just to find a few minutes of peace.  Time outs for me, not my kids. (Of course, they always find me before my time is up.) 

What are your thoughts on time outs for kids that is? Do you use them? Do they work for you?

It seems in the last week I've heard a few times about time outs on 1 year olds.  Really? Whatever happened to redirection?  My babies will be approaching one this summer and like now, its easy to continue to redirect them. I did the same with my first two and started time outs when they turned 2. 

I followed the Super Nanny approach to time outs which if executed correctly and consitently, worked wonders in my house.  For the last couple years time outs are a rarity, all it takes is a warning.