Prevent Whining Before It Begins!

While my friend was raising young children, her mother-in-law shared a tip with her to decrease whining in her children. I’d like to share it with you. This tip will not only reduce the endless whining, but will help you find joy in your little one.

When your little one is tugging on your pant leg or trying to get your attention, here’s a way to handle it:

Stop what you're doing briefly

Get down so you're eye level with your children

Let them tell you what they want to share

Respond

Let them run off and do their own thing again

My friend was apprehensive about trying this tip. She thought for sure it would consume all of her time. She soon discovered that her young children didn’t want to talk for very long. They were perfectly content with the brief interaction and then would be off with their adventures again.

This whole process takes one to two minutes. Let’s face it, usually a child tugs on us for a few minutes before getting our attention. If we just use this tip, we will save ourselves the time and frustration from trying to quiet our child over and over.

Our children will whine less because we gave them the attention they needed at the time that mattered. In addition, it helps build the foundation children need to be able to know they can come to you throughout their growing up years to talk about what is going on in their lives, including more serious issues that are bound to come up. We can use these moments to build trust and find true joy in our correspondence with our children.

I put this advice to the test. With six little ones running around my house one evening, there was a lot going on. The first time I tried the tip, my niece gave me a huge grin. She was so excited that I was really interested in what she wanted to share. I noticed that when I responded immediately to each child, I didn’t have any of the inevitable whining or tears that I expected. Instead, I found complete and utter joy of being surrounded by all of them. I truly enjoyed myself instead of focusing on the chaos around me.

What do you think? Have you tried this tip? Haven’t had a chance? Try it out! I’d love to hear about your experiences!