Break-time is portable and can be used in any situation (the park, grocery store, birthday party etc.) and the home.

Putting Break-Time into Practice 

• Decide on a space that could be used for break-time. Break-times can take place at the edge of an activity, chair at the kitchen table or family room, on the bottom of the stairs or in some circumstances in the aisle of a grocery store. Break-time can take place anywhere depending on where the problem behaviour occurs.
• What to say? “You have not done as I’ve asked, now you must take a break and go to break time.” Once a child is in break-time, “You must sit here and show me that you’re calm. When you’re calm, we can try again.
• How long does a child stay in break-time? When a child has demonstrated that they are calm and ready to follow instructions, they can come out of the break-time.
• When do you talk to a child again?If your child talks to you in time-out and not calm, you are encouraged to ignore the discussion and respond, “when you’re calm, I’m ready to talk.” Do not talk to your child until they demonstrate they are feeling calm.
• How to end break-time? Praise their positive behaviour, “thank you for being calm and quiet, now you can come out and return to the activity.”
• What if a child does not go to break-time? Parents/guardians should be in control of deciding when their child goes in and out of a break-time, not the child. If a child is resistant, parents/guardians may need to physically guide their child into a break-time. If resistance increase, children should be reminded that if they choose not to go to break-time, they are making a choice to go to time-out.