How long do you use for a time out when your child has been naughty? I was taught it should be one minute per year, but lately I feel like a meanie when my neighbors tell me they never use more than three minutes even for their 8yr old.

I too have always followed the one minute per year rule. A child should know that when they are doing something wrong they will be punished for it. 3 minutes for an eight year old is not enough because they know they can do something bad and only have to sit there for 3 minutes.

I agree that the time has to be age appropriate. The reason that little ones have short time out is because they have short attention spans and because for them 2 minutes is forever! But for an eight year old its just a drop in the ocean so they do need something more.

Honestly though I am not sure that time outs are worth anything for an eight year old. By this age they need to think about other methods of discipline.