Parenthood is many things.

But perhaps, above all else, it is about building relationships with our children; about seeking and deepening connection.

Without connection, no matter how skilled we may be, we lose the power to parent. We surrender the ability to influence our children.
So as cliché as it may sound, connection is almost always the answer.

It is the ass-kicking antidote to coercion; dwarfing punitive methods in its ability to shape our children’s behaviour.

As simple as the idea of connection may sound, we tend to shy away from it. Why? Because it demands so much more of us than conventional approaches. It requires vulnerability. It asks us to be brave enough to look in the mirror and analyze the root cause of our own emotional triggers. It shatters the illusion that parenting is about fixing our children – because it isn’t. Parenting is all about us.
One of the greatest obstacles we face is the cultural belief that an absence of coercive discipline is evidence of parental apathy. That when parents fail to control their children through fear-inducing techniques, anarchy will break loose. Children will run wild and chaos will prevail!

But that’s simply not true.

The reality is that when we use techniques like time outs, we’re – intentionally or not – disconnecting with our kids. And young children will do just about anything to maintain their sense of connection with their parents. They have no choice but to obey, to submit and appease us in order to get the connection back. Culture interprets that as a sign that conventional discipline ‘works’ but it’s for all the wrong reasons.

All parents wield the power of connection. How we choose to use it is for each of us to decide.

Taking a positive approach means using connection as a tool; strengthening and refining its power as our relationships naturally deepen. In contrast, mainstream discipline uses connection as a weapon; leveraging it against children and weakening the very relationships it is intended to reinforce.

Thankfully, there’s a BETTER way. Here are four practical tips to avoid time outs and other punishments on a daily basis.

1. Connect before you correct

“You have to reach the heart before you can reach the head.” Carter Bayton

When a child makes a mistake or is hurt, their thinking brain shuts down and their emotional brain takes over. When a child is in this state, learning is impossible.

So we need to connect on an emotional level first. Hug your child, sit with them, empathize and resist the temptation to correct the behavior. Recognize that they have lost a little dignity and may feel embarrassed, scared and confused. Teaching a lesson is rarely an emergency, so leave it for later (maybe five minutes, five hours or five days from now – depending on the situation and age of your child).

When you feel your child is in more control, attempt to redirect and bring in the logical left side of the brain. Dr. Dan Siegl, author of The Whole Brain Child, calls this process ‘name it to tame it’. One approach is to ask your child to tell the story of what happened and you can help fill in the blanks for them if they need it. Walk through the event, matter of factly and without judgment.

This helps children process their emotions while making logical sense of what really happened. It lays the foundation for a lesson to be learned and emotions to be regulated.

2. Take a “time in” together

The original theory underpinning “time out” was a good one – give children time away to reflect on their behavior so that they can make a better choice next time. But, in practice, it doesn’t matter what we say (or intend), it matters how a child feels. Sending a child into isolation can lead to feelings of abandonment, shame and rejection.

Alternatively, we can choose a proactive approach and take the TIME IN together. Time in is a positive parenting tool that helps children learn to process their emotions, so they are ready to problem-solve, learn and grow.

When your child experiences a challenging moment, invite them to sit with or near you as they express their feelings while you cool down together. Remember to connect before correcting, empathize and then address any changes that need to be made. Imagine life from their perspective as you wait for the storm to pass.

This time is an investment in your child’s emotional well-being. You’re building your child’s confidence and solidifying their trust in you; in the future they’ll feel safe to come to you in a time of crisis.

I recently found an incredible Time In Toolkit, that’s beautifully and specifically designed to help parents create a calming space for children aged 3-9+ years. It shows us how to lead and guide children by example, while nurturing their emotional intelligence.

3. Reframe your expectations

The impact of expectations cannot be underestimated. John Milton famously said, “The mind can make a heaven out of hell or a hell out of heaven.”

Our expectations start when our children are babies; if we expect that by six weeks our babies will be sleeping through the night and they’re not, we’re led to believe that there’s something wrong. We may start to feel resentful and look to sleep trainers for answers. Yet, if we hold the expectation that our baby is likely to wake every two hours for the first year, we’ll still be equally as tired but we can make more appropriate choices about how to manage the situation.

And nothing changes as our kids grow. We need to recognize that there is a wide gap between society’s expectations about how children should behave and how kids actually behave. Before we even consider attempting to influence our children’s behaviour, we need to ask ourselves if it’s reasonable to do so. Rather than demanding our two-year-old shares a toy and then punishing her for her completely normal behaviour of refusing to do so, we need to be brave enough to advocate for our children in our adult-centric culture.

Our children are wired to have fun, to play, to learn and to test their limits. Their behaviour clearly reflects this. Yet, all too often, adults swoop in and attempt diversion simply because a situation is inconvenient, embarrassing or unfamiliar. If we’re willing to lean into discomfort and challenge ourselves to see the world from our children’s vantage point, the thought of punishment is unlikely to even enter our minds.

A fantastic book that I can recommend for challenging cultural norms around children’s behaviour is Heather Shumaker’s, It’s OK to Go Up the Slide.

4. If in doubt, ask yourself this one question

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine that you’re having an issue in your relationship. Most likely, you confide in a trusted friend explaining that your partner’s recent behavior is upsetting you. What would be the first line of advice they’d give you?

Would they suggest ignoring your husband or wife for a prescribed period of time, while they quietly sit in the corner contemplating the errors of their ways? Would they suggest confiscating their phone? Or taking away their car keys as a ‘consequence’ for ‘bad’ behaviour?

Or would they suggest we approach the situation calmly, lovingly and attempt to work things out through an honest, heartfelt conversation?

Viewing our actions through a different lens can give us the perspective shift we need. In a marriage, this “time out” behaviour would be seen as game playing that would highlight an underlying pathology of a failing relationship. So why is it acceptable or even encouraged to treat children this way?

All people, regardless of their age, size, mental capabilities or emotional maturity deserve to be treated with equal respect. If you’re ever in doubt, ask yourself if you would speak to your husband or best friend in the same way? If the answer is no, then pause, take a deep breath and choose new words.

The truth is: Our children aren’t broken

Taking a positive and proactive approach to modern parenting isn’t easy, especially when we find ourselves without a village. There is no shame in reaching breaking points or in needing a time out ourselves. Give yourself permission to have a bad day and acknowledge that it doesn’t define you or your parenthood.

Recognizing that authoritarian quick fixes do not serve our children makes it easier to resist when we’re feeling overwhelmed. While parenting through connection may be the slow road it builds a solid foundation for our children and our relationships with them. When we approach parenting in this way situations in which we think the best outcome is merely to survive are transformed into moments in which we can thrive.

Connection is an invisible force that sprinkles stardust on our relationships.

It grants us the patience to sit through frustration and boredom.

The resilience to rock our babies to sleep for the fifth time in a row.

The self-awareness to empathize rather than retaliate when our children’s words hurt us. 

And the tenacity to push ourselves to limits we would simply never consider approaching for someone with whom we didn’t share that same live-giving attachment.

So, when friends and family suggest that you’re soft for refusing to punish your child, that you’re creating a rod for your own back or that children simply need discipline, feel free to whisper a silent “bullshit” under your breath and instead choose your child over any momentary judgment. Let it wash over you as your positive choices fuel an inner strength that creates an unbreakable bond between you and your child.

If you haven’t already grabbed your copy of my FREE guide: 5 Natural Parenting Secrets that Make Kids Want to Cooperate (No Time Outs, Threats or Punishment Required!), claim it here now. 

“Discipline is helping a child solve a problem. Punishment is making a child suffer for having a problem. To raise problem-solvers focus on solutions, not retributions.” L.R. Knost