They would do something naughty, get sent to the “happy chair” where they would sit and cry and scream for a few minutes until finally they would start yelling “I’m gonna be happy now, I’m gonna be happy”. (clearly my own parents hadn’t taken that particular class in college because when I was a kid and we were naughty we got sent to the “pig table” to eat alone…hmmmm…that might explain why we all grew up paranoid about our weight :)…but I can’t blame my parents ,after all, they were trying to raise ten of the most out-of-control children at the time and its just a wonder they didn’t end up in a loony bin themselves after putting up with all of us)!īack to the “happy chair” – that “happy chair” worked great with my two kids as they were growing up.
And thus my idea was born for the “happy chair”. When I had attended BYU my Child Development teacher taught us that time-out for children should be in a place with a positive outlook rather than a negative one. Where did I come up with the idea for a “happy chair” you may be asking? Well at the time my kids were born, I was a young mom, just out of college. Our “happy chair” was a bright yellow chair with a sunshine and happy kids painted on it – all designed to inspire its occupant with feelings of joy and happiness.
When my kids were little time-out at our house consisted of sending the kids to sit in the “happy chair” where they would have to stay until they were able to be happy again.