Whinging and whining??

Question

Hey guys... My bub has taken to whining ALL day long. When we are at home only. I thought he was just bored but no matter how many toys we try, as soon as I leave him to entertain himself for a while he complains...

If we walk outside he is fine and happy, but inside he is a little terror! lol

I am pretty sick and tired of it and he doesnt respond to 'No' yet (only 9 months) He just laughs at me if i growl at him... ha ha - frustrating!

Is this just a stage and on average how long will it last???

OR...

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE - any tips on how to teach him to stop whining???

He doesnt do it at night - is happy to play by himself before bed. Even in the middle of the night he wakes up and plays by himself happily for a good 45min and goes to sleep again....

Any help - i am totally out of ideas! lol

xx

Answer 1

Hmm, it does sound like you have a case of seperation anxiety. Best to train him to grow out of it now than later.

Start by ignoring his whining for a short period of time when he starts whining, maybe 5 mins at first, then gradually increasing the timing, but always coming back after your allocated timing. This will send to him a message that he will not always get what he wants when he wants it, but at the same time, he will feel reassured that you are around for him when he needs you. (Get yourself some earplugs:)

But do listen to your instincts to check on him IMMEDIATELY if his whining seems unusually high pitched or he sounds like he is in pain. Better safe than sorry.

HTHs!

Answer 2

Aw if it is whenever you leave him to play then he probably does it cos he knows you will respond, Just try to ignore him when he does it and instead make an extra effort to respond positively when he does play nicely

Answer 3

There are always trade offs with kids. If he is well behaved at night and you are getting sleep coz he is happy to entertain himself then i say you have a golden child! Wouldnt it be terrible if it was the other way round.

I think the previous response is good, dont acknowledge his whinging as much and perhaps now is a good time to introduce a new schedule. Perhaps give him a set outside play time every day so he is used to the routine. For example half an hour at morning tea time then inside, and outside again for half an hour for afternoon tea.

Good luck.

Answer 4

As he isn't able to verbalise his wants and needs, he is using all the sounds he can to communicate with you. Whining is one of these sounds and if he learns that whining gets him attention when he is playing alone, he will continue to whine.

The tricky part is to reward the positive behaviour. If he is playing nicely while you are doing something else, sit down with him and play for 5 minutes. Then continue what you were doing for a short while longer, then reward the play again.

Don't expect him to play independently for long periods of time. If you reward the times he is playing with positive attention, hopefully  he will learn that he doesn't need to whine to get your attention.

Good luck!