Time out for 18 month old?

[PeazlyPops]

DD is 18 months old, and when I collected her from nursery, she was sat quietly in the corner.

I asked a member of staff if DD was ok, and she explained that she was sat in the corner because she had tipped a bin over, and refused to pick the rubbish up, and shouted NO when they asked her to tidy it up (it was a clean, dry, recycling bin, not a "dirty" bin, if that's relevant!)

I didn't think much of it really, but when I mentioned it to DH, he was upset at the thought of her being given time out, and thinks she's too young.

I'm in two minds about it. On one hand, I don't like the thought of my pfb being made to sit in the corner, when I'm pretty sure she wouldn't understand why. On the other hand, she can be very spirited and throws major tantrums if she doesn't get her own way, so maybe time out is a normal consequence of not doing as she's told?

I just wondered what the general consensus is on the way nursery handled this?

She is too young. I'm a childminder and I wouldn't give a timeout to a toddler that small, and certainly not for a long time - from what you say she was in the corner for a while. That sort of defiance from a small toddler needs to be met with other ways of managing behaviour (eg turning it into a game), not an immediate punishment. The nursery should have a behaviour management policy that you are entitled to see. See what it says. But they should have other strategies with children who are little more than babies.

Far too young. Ridiculous. It will teach her nothing. Playing 'pick up the rubbish' with her, might have helped her learn how to do it for next time!

I really don't like time out much at all, except to give everyone time to calm down. And she is too young for it to be of any value. But the nursery my kids went did it too, and it doesn't seem to have had any lasting effect. I did get annoyed when my preschooler got told off for refusing to come in from outside on a nice summers day. When I spoke up they were very defensive and it didn't happen again, especially as I wrote a comment on the planning sheet.

If its happening regularly and you're unhappy about it, you need to discuss it. There will be a parent PTA type group too, bring it up there perhaps? You are paying for the place presumably and are entitled to a say in what goes on. It is the fashion though, and I guess most nurseries will use it.