My Daughter Whines!

C. - If there is anything that puts me over the edge it is whining! It makes me batty.
Here's what I do.
If my son or the girl that I nanny whines they go strait to their room, door closed. i don't want to hear it. I am not going to be talking nice, cuddling, hugging, trying to get out of them what the problem is because my ears do NOT hear whining. If they have something that they need then they know that they need to speak to me in a big boy/big girl voice. DO NOT let her follow you around, that's crazy! As soon as the whining starts, put her in her room. Tell her that you can not understand what she says and when she has stopped whining she can come out and ask you for what she needs. Then close the door. She may cry, she may come out. If she comes out and is still whining she should go right back in her room until she can get it together. (FYI - my son is 3, Sarah (the girl I nanny) is 2. If anyone says at this age they do not get it, they are wrong. neither one of "my" kids whine, and if they do start, it ends mighty fast).
Your daughter may be whining bacause you give her attention. You said you cuddle and try and talk with her to find out what is going on. So, she whines, she gets cuddles or mom's attention! GREAT! If you put her in her room, there is no one to listen to her whining. When she comes out and talks to you in a big girl voice, lots of praise, hugs, and tell her how much you appreciate the sound of her voice, not her whining.
Good Luck, L.

A few months before my daughter turned two, she's now 28 months, she started this whinning thing too! As soon as I'd get home from work, the whinning started. My MIL watches my girls and she said Kaitlen would be just fine all day, but as soon as my husband and I got home, she'd start whinning right away if she wanted up and we were busy or if she wanted us to do something and we weren't able to do it right away. What worked for me was to tell her that I simply can't understand her when she whines and to come talk to mommy when she can use her big girl voice. Then go back to whatever you were doing and ignore her. After a few times, once I told her I can't understand her and she needs to use her big girl voice, she'd take a deep breath, and then ask me for what she wanted in the first place (in her big girl voice). Just remember that once she does use her big girl voice and tell you what she wants, to try to accomodate it so that she knows that using her big girl voice is a good thing as she gets rewarded. Now, when she starts up her whinning, all I have to say is "I can't understand you..." and she takes her deep breath and then all is ok. Hope this helps,

P.

The best way to curb that is to flat out ignore it. Give it no response what-so-ever. Your daughter is doing it beause she get some kind of attention for it...positive or negative. If she all the sudden gets none, my guess is that she will stop doing it.

C.,

You could be describing my 21 month old daughter. She is constantly whining at me for everything. Sadly, her only word is "Mama" so that's what I hear from morning to night. At least once a day I want to climb the walls screaming.

What seems to help is to look at her and say: Mommy doesn't understand whining/Mommy doesn't listen to whining.

It's a hard road, that's for sure, but you are NOT the only one on it.

Melissa