Responding to Whines

Posted at September 20, 2012 By : Categories : Monthly Blog Comment: 0 Comment

Not so effective:

  • Threats “Quit that or I’ll give you something to whine about!”
  • Commands “Stop it right now!”
  • Giving in “All right already! You can have a candy bar.”
  • Making vague promises “Maybe later.”
  • Promising but not following through “I’ll be right there.”
  • Whining yourself “Pleeeze stop! Why do you whine all the time?? It drives me crazy!”

More Effective:

  • Redirecting “If you say that in a normal voice, we can talk about it.”
  • Ignoring “I don’t pay attention to whines.”
  • Humor “Did you say something? I don’t understand that language.”
  • Labelling the whine “That’s a whine, which is not a good way to ask for something. Here’s a better way to say it.”