Why The Whining? (And 4 Steps To Eventual Peace)

A child whining, specifically my child whining, has got to be the most torturous sound I can imagine.  I’d rather be trapped in a car with the alarm going off, or locked in an Urban Outfitters dressing room with that monotonous techno music they play pulsing at full blast…  Maybe that’s because whining is not only earsplitting — it makes me feel intensely pressured to do something, to fix something NOW. (I know, enough whining about whining.)

Getting our attention and unnerving us is what whining is supposed to do. If it’s any consolation, just about every child goes through a whining phase (or two) at some point, and it’s not indicative of a fatal flaw in our child or our parenting. Here’s how to help toddlers get what they need in a manner that’s easier on the ears and nerves…

1. Don’t let it rattle you

Some say to ignore behaviors like whining, but since that might be misinterpreted as deliberately turning away and ignoring the child’s existence, I believe in staying present and available, just disengaging from the whine. Imagine yourself wearing an annoyance filter (an invention that could make billions, I’m sure). Take a deep breath and remind yourself that your child’s behavior is perfectly normal, but that you don’t want to encourage it. If we grant our child’s request to appease the whining, or react negatively, we might do just that.

2. Gentle guidance

Calmly say something like “It sounds like you’re uncomfortable, but it’s hard for me to understand you. Please tell me in your normal voice.” You might add matter-of-factly, “That sound hurts my ears.” If the whining continues, return to whatever you might have been doing and then after a moment try again. Or, you might ask the child some questions about what he wants while reminding him to answer in his normal voice.

3. Rest, food, drink, comfort

Whiners aren’t functioning at their best, often as the result of not enough of these things. Remember, your toddlers are growing rapidly, tire easily, and have low blood sugar attacks before they realize they’re hungry. They’re also sprouting two year molars, which is bound to create discomfort (and also interfere with sleep).

4. Give undivided, positive attention

Even newborn babies know whether or not they have our full attention, and a day’s worth of half-attention doesn’t fulfill our child’s needs. As Magda Gerber writes in Your Self-Confident Baby, our children need to periodically receive the message “You are important. You are number one right now.”

Magda encouraged parents to take advantage of feeding, bathing, diapering and dressing as natural opportunities for one-on-one attention. She also recommended periods of “wants nothing” quality time, time when we allow our child to be the initiator of activities while we observe, support, respond and participate as the child requests.  This is illustrated beautifully in “Five Minutes Makes A Difference” from Hand In Hand Parenting. 

Unfortunately, no matter how much attention we give our children, they’ll still try out whining when we aren’t observing and listening to them. But if they don’t get encouraging results, this too shall pass.

Parents, teachers and caregivers, feel free to whine all you want here in the comments…

(Photo by StarMama on Flickr)

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17 Responses to “Why The Whining? (And 4 Steps To Eventual Peace)”

1. Michelle dillard says:

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   Wow! You read my mind because I’m experiencing a similar incident except my child is 1 year old. He can’t quite understand full sentences. How do I diffuse the whining if they can’t communicate effectively at the same time take care of their current needs. I want to be proactive:)

   Thanks:)
   Michelle

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   • janet says:

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     Hi Michelle! Glad to hear the mind-reading lessons I’ve been taking are working.:)

     I would try asking simple questions and asking your boy to indicate YES or NO, point, etc. I’d still acknowledge his difficulties and say “I can’t understand when you speak to me that way.” You might be surprised by how much your boy understands even though he can’t respond in kind. When he starts talking you’ll realize how much he’s been taking in!

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   • Cheyenne says:

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     This is where one word communications become effective. Sign language and simple “yes”, “no’s”, “Bananas?” can be communicated quite easily. But what do I know? With love, Cheyenne

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   • Cheyenne says:

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     Libraries have sign language DVD’s and such. Love, Cheyenne

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2. Cheryl says:

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   This post couldn’t have come at a better time for me! I thought we had passed the whining stage, since B is almost 4 but he has really been struggling with sleep for the past few weeks. When he’s tired and hungry, just like you said, the whining starts. It’s a huge relief that my standard “Sorry, I don’t understand that kind of voice” is okay!
   A little bell went off when I read number 4, undivided attention, though. That’s what he’s really asking for, in whatever voice he can.

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   • Cheyenne says:

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     This is great.

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3. sara says:

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   this is perfect… so timely, too!

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4. jeanne says:

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   Janet – no whining here Your 4 approaches are clear and to the point to engage with children and UNdo the whining. I’ve used each of those in my preschool classroom, as well, and the whining shifts quite quickly! Thanks, especially, for the reminder to not get rattled otherwise the other tips won’t work!

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5. Shannon says:

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   I’m finding that with my 20 month old, who doesn’t always have the capacity to tell me what’s wrong, if I ask him to SHOW me what he needs, I can nip the whining in the bud a lot of the time. Not ALL the time. But more often than I’d have guessed.

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   • janet says:

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     Great, Shannon! Thanks for sharing that.

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6. Gina @TheTwinCoach says:

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   I love your last point, especially. I often feel so distracted that although I have spent all day with my kids, they’ve only received my “half-attention”. I love the “Wants nothing” quality time – that is an amazing gift to be able to give your children. It is absolutely the most energizing and delicious experience – to just “be” together.

   I have found that my children whine way less when I have filled their cups, so to speak. Even just a small amount of deep connection eliminates their need to seek attention in negative ways.

   Thank you again for such a great post.
   -Gina

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   • janet says:

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     Thanks, Gina!

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7. Aunt Annie's Childcare says:

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   Lovely post!

   I addressed the same issue quite a while ago in my blog, at
   http://auntannieschildcare.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-stop-kids-whining.html

   Perhaps the words I suggest using to the child are a little stronger; I do believe in being authentic about one’s own feelings when children are behaving unacceptably, and invariably whining creates extreme irritation in the poor parent (or teacher!). But we come to the same conclusion in the end. It’s all about how much time you’ve given your child, versus how much time she actually needs and wants.

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   • janet says:

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     Thanks, Annie! Yes, we do have similar conclusions… and I think you like whining even less than I do! I know what you mean about being authentic, but I’ve seen our emotional reactions backfire in a big way, just as they do with other undesirable behaviors. The child feels powerful gaining that negative attention from us, and for some, it can encourage them to do it more. But you are such a gifted teacher that I don’t doubt you know what works for you by now.

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     • Kirstie says:

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       Hi Janet and Aunt Annie! After a steady few days of “the whine’s”, and with my husband in the US for work (I’m in Australia), I plugged “whine” into your blog search for some inspiration.
       Hooray! Many thanks for this post, Janet! I think #1 is the hardest one for me, especially when I feel I am doing a pretty good job of the other three. I will add that one to my fridge/pantry reminders!
       I would also like to thank Aunt Annie for your post too. I love how you both have similiar ideas, “similar conclusions” but with differences in delivery and yet you remain on speaking terms! :>
       I’d love your advice with something I have noticed when getting down to my two-year old’s level and talking with him. No matter what I am saying, really it could be anything at all, good or bad, he doesn’t look me in the eye. I was a bit concerned about this initially, but I have since noticed he does look at me other times, just not on those occasions when I would really like him to look at me. Perhaps it is simply the “Look at Mummy” phrase?
       Should I be concerned? Any thoughts on what I should do next?

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8. Cheyenne says:

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   Yes…we must go to loved based discipline if we are ever to change this world for the better.

   The time of domination is ending.
   The time of respect and unconditional love is here.

   I am reading, “Easy to love, Difficult to Discipline” It is a great book. It goes into great depth (Eckhart Tolle-style.)(categorized well) concerning why relationships seem/are disharmonious and what we can learn for them and how we can transform ourselves and avoid trying to transform others. Successfully transforming them is good- through inspiration but (confused)manipulation only causes pain for all.

   So I end by saying. I love you all and I look forward to this growing relationship with peaceful presence.

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   • janet says:

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     Thank you, Cheyenne.

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