Description of discipline technique:
Personally, I think time outs are beneficial to anyone in a stressful situation and as a mother of two young children, I give them to myself as often as needed. But for most young children, experts recommend one minute of quiet time per year of age. So, for example, your two-year-old should sit quietly for two minutes. Time outs should take place in a quiet spot away from the main area of activity. You can use a chair in another room or perhaps the bottom stair of the staircase (it works well for us). Some experts suggest that you don't use the crib or bedroom for disciplinary action because it may cause bad feelings toward bedtime. I use an egg timer for timing purposes because it has a nice loud ding!

Appropriate age group(s):
For all ages.

Other suggestions or comments:
For older kids, just sitting quietly for a few minutes can give them some time to step back from the situation and gather their thoughts before resuming further discussion. And for moms and dads, personally, I like to stand in my kitchen and count backwards from 10 and take a few deep breaths before going back in to deal with the kids.