For safety reasons, young children should not be left alone. You should always be able to see children during a timeout. Keep your cool. If your children leave the timeout area, gently but firmly return them. Make the timeout brief.
Some experts recommend one minute for each year of age.
Use a timer that the children can hear to signal the end of the timeout. Afterward, have a talk. Talk to your children after the timeout when you are both calm. Explain clearly what is acceptable behavior. If your child continues to have problems, there may be other underlying causes or medical conditions causing the behavior .