How would you get your 14 month old to stop whining till he gets his way?

Question

My 14 month old has just recently started crying and whining until he gets his way. EX.... Yesterday he had been playing a baby game on the computer, then I put him down to go play and I started checking my e-mail, he sat at my feet and cried for 15 min! I tried to get him interested in other toys but nothing works he is really hard headed. Today he wanted the remote for the T.V. and we don't let him play with it, and he cried for another 10 min. until I decided he needed a nap. I don't normally just give him whatever he wants, so I think it is just a test on my part to see if it works. I just was curious if anyone had any suggestions besides just not giving it to him.

Answer 1

Good for you for not giving in, first off!!  I do one of 3 things, depending on whatever.  I try to redirect him t osomething else, which is sounds like to do try that to no avail....the next 2 things I do is put him in time out (with a timer, it seems if he knows to listen for the beep, then he doesn't harass me about when he can get out) anyhow, i explain that whining is not happening and he can sit in time out until he's done whining and i try my best to ignore him.....OR I put him in his room and tell him he can come out when he's done.  I don't tell him he CAN'T whine or whatever the situation is, I just  tell him where he can do it.  He's started using the word STUPID alot and i don't like it. Made a big deal about it and he started doing it just to goat me...goat?  gode?  =)  anyhow, then i just started telling him that was a bedroom word and he can say it all he wants in tehre, but no place else...it works.  anyhow, Be firm and don't give in, as soon as you do, they know they've won.  =)  Stubborn kids are hard, good luck!!!!!

Answer 2

Try taking him in a different room pull out something different like a toy that he loves. If you sit down and act really excited it may take his mind off of what he wanted before. My thinking is that out of sight out of mind.

Answer 3

Simply ignoring him should get him to quit. When you keep giving in to him when he cries or whines it just teaches him he is in control. As long as he isn't hurting himself while he throws his fits, then ignore him. Sit him down and tell him he is not going to get whatever it is he is wanting and simply walk away. Eventually he will learn he cannot cry to get what he wants.

Answer 4

The people who say do not give in are absolutely CORRECT.  

What Obber is suggesting is to raise a spoiled child.  Yes, he is still ab baby, but doesn't mean he should be allowed to do whatever he wants or gets whatever he wants.

My daughter always wants to play with the remote. She is not allowed to, supervised or not supervised. We have a 60 dollar remote that we needed for our tv system. Thats an expensive item to let a baby play with. Even supervised, he can break the remote in an instance.

So keep doing what you are doing, be consistent.

I'm going through the same thing right now, so i know how hard it is.  

Answer 5

You can't at that age - just redirect his attention to something else, and don't give in to what he's whining for (which will only teach him over time that if he whines long enough he gets what he wants).

It's a trying age - hang in there!  

Answer 6

You cant really do anything about it. Its a phase and all kids go through it. I have an 18 month old and he is no better.

Answer 7

I have six children and what I have done is tell them "i cant understand you when you talk like that" and the obvious is just dont give in.  I know it is hard and frustrating because they have a stronger will than we do sometimes.  I have on the rare occasion that they are just beyond control used the time out untill they calmed down.

Answer 8

So: he wants Mummy; Mummy messes around on the computer while letting him cry. He wants the remote; Mummy lets him cry in lieu of finding him a suitable toy (though why he can't play with the remote while supervised I can't imagine). Mummy doesn't normally give him anything he actually wants.

Yeah, it's a big mystery why your kid is miserable.

14 mo = basically still a baby. There is no use for "discipline," and you are clearly losing in trying to fight with him. Why make both of yourselves miserable? He's a baby, he wants his Mummy, he wants his Mummy to play with him. Check your e-mail later.

If you are constantly saying 'no,' something is wrong with the environment. You need to babyproof your house a bit more, find more things to say 'yes' to, and he still needs cuddles, not being left to cry for a quarter of an hour.

If babies really learned lessons like people on here fantasize that they might, I would not be saying "No, no, Mummy's glasses are always a no" and removing little hands from my spectacles sixteen times a day. You can "not give in" all you like; it doesn't make tiny tots any better able to retain, and make use of, information. It doesn't mean you should never say "No," but it makes no sense to be nasty about it, and having unrealistic expectations is just making you unhappy. A 14mo needs more than just "Get lost, Mom's on the computer."

Answer 9

I agree that it is just a phase. If you are consistent with making sure you dont give in, it will eventually catch on in his little head. At this age they are testing you and their boundaries. Just stick with it :)

Answer 10

It seems to me like you are doing the right thing. I would defn just ignore him. Fourteen months almost seems to young to discipline, but you could place him in his crib, playpen whatever for a minute so that he understands that he can't always get what he wants. All he is doing is testing you and seeing what he can get away with. Every child does it and you have to set your boundaries now. If you give in he will always whine and cry until he gets what he wants.  

Answer 11

You're on the right track by not giving in to him.  If you ever do, it will be much harder to stop the whining.  I always told my kids that I wouldn't listen to them if they whined, and I would just ignore them.  I know that it sometimes hard, but you just have to.  He is testing you.  If you don't give in then he will eventually learn that whining doesn't work with mom and he'll stop doing it so much.

Answer 12

the simplest answer... stop giving in. If my son whines, and won't listen, he can sit in his "naughty chair" for 2 minutes. If he continues to cry, he can sit in his bedroom. I wont take away the toys or anything in his room, but he knows that pointless crying is for in private now. if he wants to throw a fit, that's where he can go. If he wants to be good, then he can. Children need boundries, and to learn that no means no.