Time for Time-Outs?

So my little guy is now 21 months old--and he's wanted to do everything by himself from the day he was born. He is very stubborn and independent. Up 'til recently--we've been able to get his attention and let him know when he wasn't supposed to do something--and that was enough. Now Jonah has learned that he has a choice in the matter--he knows when he's not supposed to do something--but he just might like to do it anyway. I just know that all this will power he has is going to be a great assett to him one day in the future--but, for right now, it's just getting him in trouble. I spent a week wondering where my sweet, little baby went--and also wondering why he was trying to break every bone in his body by climbing, jumping, pulling---and ultimately falling on that beautiful face he has. He became a stunt man overnight! And after what was supposed to be a fun day at the park turned into a chase after me because I'm not stopping for anybody--we knew we had to try something. So...welcome to the world of Time-Outs.

I was not sure that Time-Outs would work, because Jonah is still pretty young. I did some research--and it seemed that Jonah was at an appropriate age to try. I felt that it was no coincidence that the day we started Time-Outs I got an e-mail that said, "Is Your Toddler Ready for Time-Outs?"--from one of those sites that I had signed up on to keep my posted on what was going on week by week when he was a baby. Well, so far it has worked. That first day--he probably had about 5 Time-Outs. Fast forward to a week later--and he has only had one since that first day (that one was this morning: he had taken his box of oatmeal and was sitting in the recliner with the whole box poured all over him, the recliner, and the floor--I was only out of the room for a couple of minutes sorting laundry). And he has quickly corrected his behavior with the simple question: Do you want to sit in Time-Out? I'm sure that it won't always be this easy--but, for now it's working.

So...on a whim I grabbed a small rug we had and used it that first day for Time-Outs--and it worked fine: I can move it to room to room with me to keep an eye on him--besides every corner of our house has some kind of toy in it, so a corner was not going to work.

This picture is of the second time-out: he had already gotten the point. Yes, I know--he looks pitiful.

SO---I came up with this idea. I searched high and low for a placemat to monogram to become his time-out mat. I never knew it would be so hard to find a placemat I liked--I found the one below and figured it would do. I simply monogrammed Time-Out on it, but I can also monogram "Jonah's Time-Out Spot"--to make it personalized. And--it can simply be rolled up and put in a bag to take with you (consistency is important--especially when they are first learning). I thought it was a cute idea--

Price would be determined by the price of the placemat--total cost would likely be $10-12

~I hope to post soon on another project using placemats~