D.S.
I am a pre-k teacher that is certified in early childhood education. Timeout should be looked at as a time to calm down and regain self control. I call mine "The Chill Hill" and this is a place where they can go because I put them there or it can be voluntary. Studies show that you should put a child in time out 1 minute for each year they are old. For example, 2 yr. old should be in timeout no more thatn 2 min. There are 2 resources that you could look at to give you more information that I highly reccomend. The first is Postitive Discipline for the Age 0-3 and one for preschoolers as they get older. The other is Conscious Discipline, this teaches you to teach your child how to handle difficult situations. You can find out information about both online. Hope this helps!