Let's take a time-out from time-outs. Kids are going to test our limits - it's in their job description. But instead of dreading how to respond, parents can seize the opportunity to create activities that are educational and engaging.

Yes, punishments can be fun.

Creativity expert, professor, father and former daycare provider Rustin Wolfe applies his scientific techniques to some of life's smallest - but most exasperating - problems weekly at MinnMoms.com.

Here's one of his creative solutions:

Walk this way

Question: How can I get my 5-year-old to stop running ahead as we walk?

Behavior: Child won't stay with parent on walks.

Problem: Bad things could happen if she strays too far.

Solution: Walking is boring. Make it into a game. Otherwise, it's a good bet she'll be focused on the destination.

Activity: Allow her to run ahead to certain markers and then stop and wait or turn around and run back. Obviously, consider the size of the crowd and the proximity to danger as you determine a safe distance. Alternatively, have her run in circles around you (literally) as you walk, or have her balance on cracks, or hop, skip or walk backwards. Or challenge her to move in patterns like every-other square or like chess pieces: rook, bishop or knight. If you're too effective, you may find yourself being asked for a piggyback ride. Another possibility is an infinitely useful piece of string. I keep one with

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me at most times. She holds one end; you hold the other. It's nearly as effective as the child leash but without the stigma.

Want Rustin's solution for your child's challenging behavior? Post a question at MinnMoms Connect.

Read last week's problem and solution in the MinnMoms.com Expert Advice archive. Who is Rustin Wolfe? Education: Rustin Wolfe is an Associate Professor in the Doctor of Education in Leadership program at St. Mary's University of Minnesota. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. in Psychology from the University of Chicago, where he worked under Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of "Flow" and "Creativity." Rustin received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, with a major in Sociology and an individual major titled "Divergent Thought and Behavior." Rustin is a certified facilitator in Creative Problem Solving.

Childcare experience: As an undergraduate, Rustin worked as the lead teacher of a before/after school program. He has coached children of elementary age through college.

A month after he began working in daycare, Rustin knew something had to change or he'd burn out. The bad behavior was getting to him. Despite his good intentions, the kids kept breaking the rules. And he came to dread discipline. So, that's precisely what he changed. Rustin decided to let go of the traditional time-out in favor of more creative punishments. He figured out how to - in a twisted sort of way - look forward to the next opportunity to come up with a novel consequence.

Rustin set up rules: the punishment had to be a logical consequence, it should try to undo the wrong that had been done, it should prioritize the facilitation of future behavior over punishing past behavior, and it shouldn't be intentionally boring.

Philosophy: Time-outs are for when we can't think of anything better. Every moment is a learning opportunity. Rustin challenges parents and caregivers - himself included - to ask themselves: How can we take advantage of the opportunities before us when a child misbehaves?