My little princess is an angel. I really love her for her nice personality and she is not even in her ‘terrible two’ phase. Whenever she wants something, she asks for it in a polite, incredibly mature way.
Ok, you got me, that is not true.
Whining kids alert! She is often a little too dramatic. She almost always turns on her waterworks each time she wants something.
It not easy to easy to deal with whining kids that burst into tears whenever they want something, but I manage to find some practical ways to handle that. Here are my top suggestions on how this can be curbed.
How to deal with whining kids
1. Be More Attentive – Kids use crying to seek your attention. As a parent, it’s critical to show your child that she can reach you without crying. Children are keen on learning how you treat them. A child who feels detached will resort to crying each time they want you to pay attention and you will get the whining kids.
2. Teach Them How to Be Polite – The parents have a role of teaching their children on how to use politeness to get what they want. If the child does not know how to ask for things politely, this in the first place, is a big fail on the parent’s part. You have to teach them that and be an example. Our role is to teach them respect, politeness, empathy.. There is an interesting book about bad attitudes
3. Don’t ignore whining kids – Kids see the world from a very different point of view. To them not having the thing they want can very distressing. If they realize that you ignore them in their distress, they will always cry. However, if you show them your concern for their plight, they will learn to let you know what they need without crying.
4. Reward Politeness – Good behavior is best reinforced by rewarding your child. When a child asks for something without crying, take the opportunity to reinforce this kind of behavior through compliments and even small gifts.
5. Help Your Child Understand – It’s a tough world, even for a kid. Calmly help your children see that it is impossible to have everything they want every time they want it.
Remember, though you may be tempted to punish your child for whining, it is not the best solution. This only adds to their distress and feelings of being powerless. It, therefore, does not prevent them from being the whining kids in future.
Great read. I struggle with this with my 2yr old. Thanks for sharing! I hope to be more attentive… Good reminder 🙂
These are great tips. My son just turned three and with it came whines and screeches galore! It’s so tempting to just ignore it.. I can’t lie. I will do what you say, though. Seems more productive.
Great list! I’ve recently discovered the beauty of #4. I even made a behavior chart for each of my kids (and blogged about it). It’s been wonderful to see them think about that chart and choose to make better decisions.
18 months is basically a lot of tantrums for us over here, so I’m working on this a lot with my son!
Whining kids can be sooooo annoying! Mine included! You’ve got a good list there. Nice to meet you. 🙂
So true! When my 3-year-old whines what I WANT to do is ignore it because it’s irritating, but it usually means that she needs attention or is tired. Neither of which will get better by ignoring her!