Stern voice has no effect on 18 month old

So I've got this little guy who's only been here a couple of months so far. He's a super happy little guy! Problem is, when he's done something he shouldn't, and I need to use my stern voice, he laughs. I don't feel that he's being directly defiant, though. I've talked to his parents about how they manage things with him at home, (when he's not listening or hits...), and they don't give him time outs because they feel he's too young. I told them that he gets time outs here, and Mom said she was going to start so that we were on the same page. Has anyone had this? Is this simply because of leniency at home?

I'm dealing with the same thing here, a sibling pair. They both just laugh when i reprimand them. I've seen them do it with parents too, and they do correct saying that's not funny, etc. time outs are used at things and here and almost always have little effect. Its really frustrating and i feel likes a broken record all day long! at this point I'm thinking its either a personality trait or the parents are actually letting stuff go at home and just telling me otherwise. I've find that the standard one min per year old time out doesn't work for my two, they need longer and have to be completely away from the other kids and me.

I am one of those that feel under 2 years of age is too young for a time out. Most of them at that age just don't understand it. If a child under 2 is misbehaving here I remove them from whatever it is they are doing and tell them in simple words why. "We do not take toys from our friends. That is not nice." I place them in a different area or give them a book to read. They are usually distracted enough to do the new thing and then they just come back to the group on their own.

I have a 3.5 year old that I was having issues with and she pretty much lived in time out land lol. I finally decided to try something new. I have green and pink chairs and she likes to sit on the pink one. If she is good all day she can sit on a pink chair for afternoon snack. This has helped wayyyyyy better than timeouts. There have been times that I have taken away a toy she really likes to play with as well. For her, this consequence is much more severe because she didn't really care if she was in time out or not.

The problem with the stern voice is it can also be taken as a teasing voice by some kids and especially if there are no further consequences. The idea behind the stern voice is that it serves as the final warning to kids to shape up or face the penalties so they generally do as they are told at the stern voice phase. The little ones know it as a game that means very little. Stern voice with action is much more effective and not necessarily a time out which is detached from the event. A child that hits or tosses something or whatever can be held by the arms, stern voice right in their face with only a few words of what is not acceptable as you move and plunk the child down in a spot away from where they did the event - even just a couple feet. It is the physical swooping in getting in their face and forcing them to sit that is the effective part. Depending on what happened they are not allowed to move till you have finished dealing with the event - comforting another child, picking up the tossed item and putting up out of child's reach etc.

Playfelt, that is the problem. The stern voice is used as you have described, but it means nothing. And these are serious infractions, things like hitting, or running away, (we're at the park, and he runs for the road). I don't lightly give time outs, and I'll even admit that they don't work for every child. Anyways, the stern voice IS my final warning, but it just seems as nothing is getting through.