Helping Your Child Stop Whining

One of the hardest battles we are going to have to face as a parent is whining children; it is a known fact that children of all ages whine in order to try and get their way. But what you as a parent might not realize is that children also whine for other reasons; it could be that they are hungry, tired, thirsty, or they don’t feel good. Your job as a parent is to figure out why your child is whining and then come up with ways to put a stop to whining. And once you have developed a plan to stop your child from whining, the most important thing to do is to stick with your plan; don’t ever give in or back down. Whining is a learned behavior and the only way to unlearn that behavior is to teach your children alternative things to whining.

Here are some ideas on how to help your child stop whining.

Idea one:
Pay attention to what it is that you are feeding your child. If they are eating a diet high in sugar, they could be suffering from the highs and lows that accompany eating a diet high in sugar. Once the sugar high wears off your child will experience a low which can trigger whining, because it makes them feel tired and horrible. Sometimes changing their diet can solve a lot of problems.

Idea two:
You should also pay attention to your child’s nap or bed time, when children get tired they tend to get whiny. So basically don’t take your child to the grocery store five minutes before bedtime. Children require more sleep than adults do; rather than change their schedule around, you should alter your schedule to be sure that they are getting enough sleep. If they start whining half an hour before bedtime that is a good indicator that they need to go to bed earlier, or if they are whining by midmorning sometimes a nice nap will help them to sleep it off.

Idea three:
Another good way to help keep your kids from whining is to keep them entertained. If you are going to be going on a long car ride, bring along some games, books and other activities that can help keep them occupied. The same thing holds true if you are going to be going somewhere that is more of an adult place than a child’s place. The busier your kids are, the fewer opportunities that they will have to whine.

Idea four:
If your child insists on whining, you should set up an area where they can go whine; a bedroom is the perfect place. Once they start whining, simply ask them to go into their rooms until they are done whining so that you don’t have to hear it. You should also explain to your children that when they whine you can’t understand them, and it hurts your ears, so they need to go somewhere else to do it. You should also make it clear to your child that certain rooms in the house are “no whining rooms”. If it helps, put up signs that say “No whining allowed” in the rooms that you have designated as no whining rooms.

Idea five:
Never just order your child to stop whining; nine times out of ten it doesn’t work. Kids, like adults, would rather be talked to in a respectful manner, not to mention the fact that they respond better when you talk to them respectfully rather than just ordering them around.

Just remember that the worst thing you can do is to give in to your child’s whining behavior, so be consistent and don’t forget to praise them when they do good.