Send Time-Outs To The Trouble Corner? Experts Mixed On Disciplinary Practice

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Are time-outs worth the time?

A recent parenting blog about completely eliminating punishment for children has a lot of folks debating what works and what doesn't.

The blog says even putting your kids in time-out is ineffective and harmful.

As CBS 2's Emily Smith reported, the time-out seems to be the go-to strategy for disciplining children.

But psychologist Dr. Harris Stratyner said it isn't effective at all.

"They may temporarily resolve a situation but they don't work. And actually, they cause a lot of damage," he told Smith.

Dr. Stratyner considers the time-out a form of punishment much like spanking and said it can also lead to issues as an adult.

"Punishment does not work. Positive reinforcement works, and it does require a little extra work," he told Smith.

Parenting expert Rosie Pope uses a time-in method versus a time-out for her family.

"We call them chats," she explained. "We go out of the room to a different place, a quiet place. They have to look at us in the eye and we talk about it. It's hard for the kids to look at you in the eye but it means they're concentrating."

Pope said she often gives herself a time-out of sorts to clear her mind before doling out a punishment.

Clinical psychologist Dr. Rachel Busman isn't as quick to put a stop to the time-out method.

"When time-out is used appropriately and effectively, then it can be a very good strategy," she told Smith. "It is a complete removal of what's happening in the moment and it's a break."

Some moms said they have no problem with the disciplinary tactic.

"I think time-out is better than giving a spank," one parent told Smith.

Dr. Ezriel Kornel, who studies the brain, said the mind is so complex it's impossible to choose a one size fits all discipline.

"Since each one of us is different, you can't say specifically that for one child, a time-out will work and for another child, it won't," he told Smith.

The experts all agreed that positive reinforcement is important.

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