The sound of a child whining is like nails on a chalkboard. Some children whine occasionally when hungry, tired, or very upset. But, for many children whining becomes a near constant habit.
How many times have you said, “Stop whining!” to your child? Does whining drive you absolutely crazy?
What if I told you that one simple sentence could significantly decrease, or even stop your child from whining?
One Simple Trick To Stop Whining
When your child begins talking to you in a whining voice, simply say, “I can’t understand you when you use that voice. Try again.”
I noticed while mothering 6 children, that most children have no idea that they are whining. So when Mom says, “Stop whining!” the child often doesn’t understand what she is doing wrong. Often, all Mom needs to do is to point out the tone of voice that is unacceptable and reinforce the use of an acceptable tone of voice.
The first few times you say, “I can’t understand you when you use that voice. Try again.” you will need to explain. Demonstrate the sound of a whiny voice. Then explain that you can’t understand words using that voice. Next demonstrate talking in a normal voice to illustrate your point.
Encourage your child to try again by talking to you in a normal voice.
Whining often begins simply. A child whines, Mom responds, and the child subconsciously realizes that a whining tone of voice brings action from Mom. Before you know it, you have a child constantly whining. To break the whining habit Mom simply needs to demonstrate to her child that whining does not bring action, but talking in a normal voice does bring action from Mom.
Be sure to not respond to a whining voice, while also acting quickly to acknowledge the tone of voice you want to hear.
Try it! After a few days you’ll notice much less whining in your children. The amount of times you have to give the reminder “I can’t understand you when you use that voice. Try again.” will decrease as your child learns that whining doesn’t bring acknowledgement but a normal tone of voice does.
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