What if my child becomes destructive or dangerous?

If a tantrum escalates, remove your child from the situation and enforce a timeout:

• Select a timeout spot. Seat your child in a boring place, such as in a chair in the living room or on the floor in the hallway. Wait for your child to calm down. Consider giving one minute of timeout for every year of your child's age.
• Stick with it. If your child begins to wander around before the timeout is over, return him or her to the designated timeout spot. Don't respond to anything your child says while he or she is in timeout.
• Know when to end the timeout. When your child has calmed down, briefly discuss the reason for the timeout and why the behavior was inappropriate. Then return to your usual activities.

Don't use timeouts too much, however, or they won't work.