naughty step

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, sense 2 (“state of disgrace, exclusion from a group, or punishment”) is attested earlier than sense 1 (“place where a child is sent to sit as a punishment”),[1] though logically sense 2 follows from sense 1. The term was popularized by the professional nanny and author Jo Frost (born 1970) in the British television show Supernanny (first broadcast in 2004).[1]

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈnɔːti ˌstɛp/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈnɔti ˌstɛp/, /ˈnɑti-/, [-ɾi-]
• Hyphenation: naugh‧ty step

naughty step (plural naughty steps) (chiefly British)

1. A place, such as a particular step on a staircase or a stool, where a child is sent to sit in silence as a punishment.

   Coordinate term: naughty corner

   • 2007, Lucy Cavendish, “Tuesday”, in The Invisible Woman, Rearsby, Leicester: W. F. Howes, →ISBN, page 375:

     She is still talking to them at length about bringing up children without naughty steps.

   • 2008, Katie Price, “Harvey’s Progress”, in Jordan: Pushed to the Limit, London: Arrow, Random House, published 2009, →ISBN, page 90:

     I use the naughty step technique. Harvey understands that if he throws something he has to pick it up. say sorry and go and sit on the naughty step and count to thirty.

   • 2011, Natasha Joffe, Justine Roberts, “You Don’t Have to Have a Naughty Step but the Odd Star Chart Never Killed Anybody: Modern Disciplinary Systems and What to Do with Them”, in Why Did Nobody Tell Me?, paperback edition, London, New Delhi: Bloomsbury Publishing, published 2012, →ISBN, page 179:

     I know someone who uses and uses and uses the naughty step and threat of same, so much so that the phrase sets my teeth on edge. Her daughter's not even "naughty" – her mother just doesn't want her to behave like a child, just a mini adult.

   • 2011, “The Naughty Step”, in Stephen Jones, editor, Haunts: Reliquaries of the Dead, Berkeley, Calif.: Ulysses Press, →ISBN:

     When I am on the naughty step I can see into the family room. It used to be the kitchen but someone who lived here turned the other room into the kitchen and now the kitchen is the family room. […] I am on the naughty step a lot.

   • 2014, Jo Frost, “Good Behaviour SOS”, in Jo Frost’s Toddler Rules: Your 5-step Guide to Shaping Proper Behavior, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books Trade Paperbacks, →ISBN, page 229:

     Warn once, then follow through with the Naughty Step. […] And yes, you can discipline more than one child at once. I've had triplets on three Naughty Steps. If that's too hard for you, do it one at a time.

   • 2018, Tracey Jensen, “The Cultural Industry of Parent-blame”, in Parenting the Crisis: The Cultural Politics of Parent-blame, Bristol, Chicago, Ill.: Policy Press, →ISBN, page 73:

     She [Tanya Byron] implicitly referenced [Jo] Frost’s most infamous Supernanny technique, stating that she was ‘not a fan of naughty steps’ (see Mumsnet, 2007). Her co-clinician on Little Angels (BBC Three, 2004), Stephen Briers, repeated this in his book Superpowers for Parents (2008), promising that ‘you won’t find any naughty steps here’.

2. (figuratively) A state of disgrace, exclusion from a group, or punishment as a result of a misdemeanour.
   • 2010 July 13, Nicholas Watt, “Liam Fox is placed on the Downing Street naughty step after testing David Cameron’s patience”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 May 2022:

     When David Cameron moved into Downing Street he probably thought that he would only ever banish his children to the naughty step. But a member of the cabinet [Liam Fox] has been placed on the Downing Street naughty step after weeks of bad behaviour which has tested the prime minister's patience to its limits.

   • 2011 May 4, Chris Hewett, “Armitage and Cipriani latest to be put on naughty step”, in The Independent‎, London: Independent News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 8 May 2011:

     Two of English rugby's more troublesome individuals – the London Irish full-back Delon Armitage and the former Wasps outside-half Danny Cipriani – found themselves on the naughty step once again yesterday as the union game's reputation, comprehensively battered after recent incidents involving big-name international players, suffered another bruising.

   • 2015 February 11, Jim White, “Mario Balotelli: Why we missed him at Liverpool”, in Chris Evans, editor, The Daily Telegraph‎, London: Telegraph Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 February 2017:

     Most other players, after such a prolonged spell on the naughty step, would have made ostentatious yardage from their goal, running around, pointing to the name on the back of their shirt, making a gesture to the bench, high-fiving the fans. Not Mario [Balotelli].

• corner time
• sin bin
• time-out

• time-out (parenting) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia