One of the most frustrating phases of childhood, after making it past the 'no' phase (one I was lucky enough to bypass), is the whining. The high-pitched 'my toe hurts' 'I want my bunny' 'I'm sleepy' 'I'm hungry' whining. If there is one thing that makes me wish for peace and quiet above all else, it's this wearisome habit of children.
I'm not even sure I know how they learn it. Am I a whiner? Do my kids pick it up from me? Since most of their learned behaviours come from their parents, I'm not left with much else for an explanation. And I realize there are tactics for dealing with this horrible habit, but having tested them myself, I have yet to find one that is efficient.
So where does that leave me? Waiting until the whining phase passes? Pulling my hair out in frustration? Attempting to ignore it altogether? Sometimes I wish there was a parenting handbook that held all the answers, but then again, it would take away all the fun of figuring things out yourself.
For now, I guess I'll just have to wiggle my way through the whining and continue to focus on all the other, loveable, endearing aspects of my darling daughter, at least until my youngest daughter is old enough to drag me back through this wonderful phase.
I've got all that to look forward to; my boy's 8 months old. I dread to think what he's going to pick up from me!
ReplyDeletecoffintreehill.tumblr.com
The first time your little one does something that shocks you, you realize how much of your words and your ways they pick up. :)
DeleteWe did a whole entire dinner with our four year old granddaughter where all we did was converse in "whining" (she was going thru the stage. She giggled and laughed at grandma and popa sounding so funny asking for the salt and pepper and having dinner conversation while whining. I think she realized how annoying it was to hear and she cut down her whining a lot after that! Actually it was a lot of fun too!
ReplyDeleteThat's one way to do it. I've tried whining back but not through a whole dinner, maybe we should give it a try. That's cute that you guys had fun with it. :)
Deletehi Jessica, i praise God that i am way beyond whining woes with my kids because they are grown ... yet, they didn't have much episodes of those when they were at that stage, I am aptly blessed!
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April (bob's wife)
I look forward to the days when we're past this phase. :)
DeleteI remember when I was younger I whined because it drove my mom crazy. So with my daughter I do my very best to ignore it completely. It's so difficult, though!
ReplyDeleteHaha, you whined because it drove your mom crazy. :) My mom was too mean to let me get away with anything, including whining. It is hard to ignore the whining, I've tried too, but not always successfully.
DeleteI don't have kids, but all the dogs I've ever owned have somehow managed to figure out that whining gets them what they want (a piece of cheese, outside, the ball). And I'm a sucker and fall for it every time. So I imagine that kids can read us even better than our four legged-companions and know that magic sound will get them whatever they want just to make it stop.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd be more of a sucker for a whining dog. Maybe they're harder to refuse because you can't really reason with them.
DeleteI sat my daughter down at a very young age & told her "If you whine, you will never get what you want. If you ask you have at least an even chance I will say yes & you'll get what you want." Then every time she whined I would point it out so she understood why I was saying no. It hurts, but I made myself be very consistent because whining drives me up the wall & I really wanted to break this habit. It worked - hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea. However, my daughter doesn't whine about wanting something, she just whines when she talks. It's so frustrating. :(
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