Time-Out Bear -- Should Teddy Do Your Job?

Well the bear isn't going to gaurd the door either so unless they already listen to you its not going to do any good. Also its very mobile...do you really want to be searching for the stupid time out bear while you could be enjoying your dinner? And do you give your kids timeouts at the same time in the same room or are you going to purchase a bear for everyone? Waste of time and money..its a cute idea but total waste all around.

 Time out could occur in another spot of the house that's closer to the kitchen and easier for you to monitor. This would also allow the use of the timer on the microwave or stove.

My twins are two so they don't completely understand the whole "time out" concept nor are they capable of sitting on their own for two minutes. If one does need a time out (and I use these sparingly so they'll retain their seriousness) I say to the offender "No ___" then I take him out of the room and sit with him someplace quiet so he can get a hold of himself (as close to two minutes as we can get), then I repeat "No ____", give him a hug and a kiss, and we move on.

or you can get a kitchen timer, it is probably cheaper then the bear

I don't think anything that looks like a toy should be part of it. 

I also don't agree with using the "minute per year of age" in time-out.  If they stood there and screamed for 3 minutes and then they're out... that accomplished NOTHING.

I've never followed the time=years rule - I have my son go into "think time" instead, wherein he has to calm down and think about his behavior.  Once he's calmed down, we discuss his options for behavior next time and how to act when he's in the same situation.  There's no time limit on these - he just needs to be able to calm himself down and then come up with a better choice (as he gets older, he'll be able come up with the choices all by himself, but right now, I'm still guiding him to better options).

How does the bear do your job as a parent?  I don't understand that.  When I was in time-out, I was in my room until my mom said I could come out and I didn't dare come out a second sooner even if I could see on my clock that 5 (or however many minutes) were up.  The bear could be great for time concepts but even when he "dings" that the time is up, you should still be an active part of disciplining your child.  Your child has now had time to calm down and it's a great time for you to go to their room and explain why they were punished, ask for an apology and deliver a hug.  You can and should do this with or without the bear so I don't see how it replaces parenting of any sort.  It may be helpful to encourage the kids to be patient.  As in "see, you only have one minute left on the bear, I can sit here and be quiet for one more minute."  If the time just seems endless, they're just going to act up even more.  That's an instance the bear could be helpful.

I agree with twinclubmom... their room really isn't the best place for timeout.  Not only is it nearly impossible to monitor (without taking 4-5 minutes out of your time), but it's basically a playground.  Timeout on a swing in the park wouldn't be much of a timeout, right? 

I'd pick a corner (or a corner in each room), and let them take a timeout there.  As a caregiver, I always used timeouts as time to cool down and think, so I never used the minutes = years in age.  It's quite possible that after 4 minutes, a 4 year old will still be screaming.

Buy a kitchen timer. It is the same thing minus the bear.

I do use the minute per year-of-age rule, but I don't send my boys to their room for time-out because that's where the toys are!  What kid of punishment is that?!  They sit on a chair, pulled back from the table so they can't touch anything, and I set the oven timer.  When it dings, I remind them of how they should behave and then they can get down.