There is good news for parents worried about the merits of using time-outs as a punishment. Research says evidence shows time-outs can be an effective strategy to discipline children aged two to eight years old. Parents do not need to worry about their parenting skills if they give time-outs to misbehaving children as they do not harm children or their relationship with their parents. Researchers compared the emotional health and behavior in children whose parents used time-outs with those who didn't. They found no difference in the children.
Parents use time-outs to modify their children's behavior. It involves sending children to a quiet space to reflect on their behavior. Scientists have disagreed about the effectiveness of this strategy. Dr Rachel Knight said: "Some reports in the media...have suggested that time-out is ineffective and even harmful." She added there are claims, "that time-outs can damage the parent-child relationship and negatively affect emotional health". Dr Knight concluded: "We did not find a relationship between time-outs and negative side effects in children."