time out issues

We're having a bit of a problem at our house.

What do you do when you're kid is rotten?

You put him in Time Out.

But therein lies said problem.

What do you do when your kid thinks Time Out is awesome?

Today Andy reverted back to his old water spitting habit. I thought we were done with that, but it's back with a vengeance. And it's ticking me off.

At his Meme's house today, he spat water all over her couch after I'd specifically told him not to. I said, "Andy, no spitting water! Do I need to put you in Time Out?"

He smiled and said, "Yeah!"

Oh crap, I thought. Now what?

"Do you want to go in Time Out, Andy?"

"Yeah!"

Okay, so at this point I have no choice but to put him in Time Out. I can't make it an empty threat.

So I said, "Okay, you're going to Time Out because you're spitting water." I took him into a quiet room and faced a chair towards the wall. I put him in it and told him why he was in Time Out. Then I walked away where he couldn't see me.

He sat in the chair for a few seconds, then turned around, craned his neck until he could see me, waved at me and said, "Hi Mommy!"

I bit my tongue so I wouldn't laugh, turned him back around in his chair and stepped away again. When I returned after about 10 seconds (he's not even two...more than 10 seconds would be a stretch) he happily said, "Hi!" again, hopped down and toddled off.

The entire episode was a flop.