Thursday, February 28, 2008

T.O. like you've never seen it


A one year old boy who respectfully honors his timeouts has become quite the talk among both Erik's and my family as they've witnessed several accounts of this comical phenomenon. I know timeout is not meant to be funny, nor toyed with. But if you could only see! When Kimball was about 15 months old, I started putting him in timeout when he was doing something I asked him not to. For me, what works is to just sit him down facing the wall with his feet flat against the wall, in any room, or even in the outdoors on occasion, as you will notice from Erik's soccer game below. And for some TOTALLY odd reason, whether he'd been totally hyper, crying, or whatever just seconds before, the moment he sits in timeout he is dead quiet and 100% STILL. He doesn't move a muscle and it is HYSTERICAL! This is something that I never thought of taking pictures of until Erik's sister Miriam couldn't stop snapping when we were vacationing in Cambria this summer. Miriam and Rachel kept begging me to put him in t.o. due to any slight misbehavior but I reserved them only for when they were due. Now my own family begs for the same sight, it is seriously unbelievable and hilarious. Just last week Erik and I let him out of the cart at the grocery store and he went sprinting down the frozen food aisle so I yelled down the aisle, "Kimball, stop running away or you will sit in time out!" He IMMEDIATELY dove into timeout position and was sitting dead still with his feet against the freezer! We were laughing so hard!

These pictures I'm attaching are a collection from the past 6 months and don't worry, I always turn off the flash so he doesn't know that he's being mocked. Hopefully you can capture the "stillness" as you view these pics ;)

15 comments:

Becky said...

Hilarious

Mikell Stringham said...

Denise, this is classic! So funny... so Kimball. What a cute kid.

Hartley Family said...

That is so funny! I have never heard of a child being so obedient to their time-outs!!! Ohh- what a sweetheart!

Jessica said...

That is too funny! At least he doesn't run away so you have to keep putting him back in time out. Like the moms on Nanny 911!

I put Maren in her room on her time out chair and close her door. A few seconds later, I will her this tiny little knock and, "hello, mom; what doin?"

It is too hard not to just laugh!

Anonymous said...

OMG I am dying! He is adorable. Maybe you could somehow hide one of those "nanny cams" in the room and post a clip on the blog. ; ) I'm only half joking, hee hee

Kari Howell said...

LOVE IT!!! That is so hilarious, I can see how people would be taunting the poor little guy just to see him like this- the pictures are awesome!! I do wish you had the camera with you at the grocery store the other day! He is a doll.

Rani said...

That is absolutely hilarious! What a little pumpkin head. I pray my kid is that obedient.

Nikki said...

Denise-
I just have to tell you THANK YOU for all your hard work and labor of love you put into YW!!! You will truly be missed by these girls I can just tell how much they love you! I'm so excited to be in there but hope know we have "BIG SHOES TO FILL".... love you girl!

Barbie said...

No WAY! I wish Ethan could have that kind of self discipline! If Kimball still does this when he's two I will be REALLY impressed! Either way...how adorable.

Sunny said...

It's still totally unfair. All three of mine throw the hugest fits. Full on scream, arch the back, bang on the door, hit me, throw toys, etc. You are so lucky!

Kate, Brian and Hazel said...

Can i drop hazel off at your house for a time-out lesson? She really enjoys time-out. I think she thinks it's a reward for being naughty. Kimball is pure entertainment!

Leslie and Dave said...

Hilarious! He is once again so adorable. I am going to have to come to you to teach me parenting skills.

kelliej said...

Are you kidding me? This is hilarious. Why didn't you put him in timeout at my house? I would have loved to have seen this...and maybe teach Ruby a thing or two about being naughty.

The Cliftens said...

Could he be any cuter????

Miriam Oh Painter said...

He's such a cutie! i am all for timeout!!!