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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous] Time outs in the bedroom are a normal form of punishment. I wouldn't put my kid in the bathroom alone.[/quote]

I wonder about this. OP says the psychologist suggest the bathroom because it is more of a punishment than being sent to their room, which is presumably more comfortable. Like the psychologist picked the bathroom specifically because it's hard and cold with nowhere comfy to sit. That's... messed up. Having a child take a time out because they can't use kind words or are being ruled by emotion is one thing, but there's not reason that child can't calm down while sitting on their bed, looking at a book, or even playing with a toy. Comfort and distraction are not counterproductive in that situation -- they may actually be conducive to the child calming.

I have a kid who I can't give time outs to when she is really upset because she will try to destroy something. So I don't send her to her room because once when she was four, I had her do a time out in her room and she picked up her doll house and threw it on the ground. I could see someone responding to that by saying "ok, then you have to do a timeout in the bathroom where you can't throw toys" but then I think a very disregulated child would just rip down the shower curtain, slam the toilet lid, pull all the toilet paper off the roll, etc.

I have found that with a child who has this level of emotional disregulation, the only thing that works is co-regulation, where you stay calm and use your words, breathing, and calming actions to lead the child into a calmer place by modeling. Not only is it the best way to address a tantrum like this in the moment, but it is also the only way to teach a child who gets this worked up how to come back down, because kids who have these kind of wild mood swings NEED a set of tools for managing strong emotions. They won't find any tools in the bathroom.[/quote]

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