I personally believe a time out place should still be in rooms where the family are or nearby, bottom of regular stairs ,corner chair, ,the point is the child has to stay there ,thats what they dont like ,so I say No to the basement step, and a big NO to any child being shut in a room as a punishment ..Basements can be scary..
HI, I don't think it is bad to put a child on a step basement or otherwise for time out. The mother is staying there, so it is okay. 10 minutes can be a bit long. The usual rule is a minute for each year they are.
I personally wouldn't lock my kids in somewhere but I will tell you that for a child that has aspergers or such, that is the usualy the expert's suggestion. Locking in the basement has a negative conotation to it (ours is finished with a big tv and toys, not exactly torture!)----
I guess the important thing is if it is discipline and the child is compliant with it learning----- it sure beats what many parents do to their kids. Yikes!!