Even Supermoms have their Kryptonite… Mine is whining. Nothing gets my eye twitching faster than hearing kids whine. It doesn’t even have to be my own children – other people’s kids can grate on me too.
Thankfully I’m not a pushover, so by now my 4 year old son knows that whining will get him nothing but a consequence – which is often nothing (like missing out on a particular snack or toy). However, that doesn’t stop him from the occasional whining binge. Or if we have play-dates with a particularly whiny child, my son quickly digresses into whining right along with them.
So, in an effort to curb whining in our household, I’ve posted a ‘No Whining’ sign and added it to the list of ‘House Rules’ (see related post on ‘Our General House Rules’). Consequenses range from: No Snack; a Time Out; to a 1/2 hour earlier bedtime…
I’d love to hear what creative ways you’ve come up with to ‘Tame the Whining Beast’ in your home.
~ Erika
I hate whining too! I don’t really take things away for it though. I just tell my son I can’t hear him when he talks in that voice. I also tell other visiting children the same thing. Makes it not so negative while reinforcing the No Whining message. But you have to stick to your guns. Absolutely, positively, under no circumstances can you respond to it. Only respond when they speak in a normal voice.
If he’s whipping himself up into a whining frenzy, I stop and ask him “what are you doing? why are you talking in a voice I can’t understand?” It helps him identify this behavior on his own and look a bit introspectively to ask himself why he is behaving that way.
ooooh… I like where you’re going with this idea! I had an opportunity to try a variation of it on my son last night. He started whining and I said ‘I’m sorry, I speak English and I can’t understand a word you’re saying.’ It worked great and he started asking me again in a normal voice!! Thanks for the tip! ~ Erika