Can You Please Use Your Grown Up Voice? 4 ways to get your child to stop whining

Whining! I just can’t can’t stand it when anyone goes on and on about something – whether it’s a child or an adult!

And now imagine when you have a child that whines about everything. If that whining sets you on edge, then you can be sure you’re in good company.

When children whine, it’s not because they set out to deliberately annoy a parent,  most times it’s because they don’t know a better way to communicate their thoughts and feelings.

So a child will whine if he’s hungry, tired, cranky, bored, and the list is endless.

Once your child tries to get your attention and he realizes that whining can get a reaction from you,  he continues whining – after all any reaction is better than no reaction,  right?

Handling your child’s whining will determine whether or not the whining stops. The fact that a child gets older does not automatically signal the end of whining, in fact it only makes it more annoying. And unless you get tired of it, you’re not likely to put a stop to it. I have seen parents who leave the child to whine believing that the child will get tired of whining and stop.

Getting rid of whining will take a conscious and deliberate act by a parent to put a stop to it.

How can you stop your child from whining?

• Refuse to Show Any Reaction when your child begins to whine. A reaction is exactly what your child is after. Whether it’s negative or positive isn’t so important to your child, as long as he can elicit a response. You have to maintain a neutral expression.
• Calmly show your child how you expect her to ask for attention. Help her practice how to speak in a grown up voice and teach her the proper way to ask for things when she needs them
• Refuse to give in to whining, be firm in your insistence that your child asks properly before you accede to their request, no matter how tempted you may be to give in
• Look for signs that your child may be tired, hungry or bored, and attend to their needs. It will prevent them from getting to a point of total meltdown and consequently whining.

The ultimate responsibility for helping your child to stop whining lies in your hands.

Whining will only get worse as a child grows older. If you don’t help your child to nip this in the bud, it may go on to affect his relationships in the future.

If you don’t take care of this, who will?

Have you had any experience with handling a child who whines?

What did you do?

I would love to hear from you.

Drop your comments.