2.17.2009

the whining.

It begins in the wee hours of the dawn: the sounds of my children whining, seeping through the child monitors like nails on a chalkboard. It continues as I fetch my dear children from their beds, carry them downstairs, prepare their breakfast and get them dressed. It does not let up during the late morning, nor the noon hour. It crescendos to its peak at dinnertime and only ceases when eyes and bedroom doors have closed for the night.

Aaaaaah, blessed peace...

...until the next morning when the symphony of whining begins all over again.

They whine when they're hungry, they whine when they aren't hungry and I make them sit them at the table. They whine when they want something, they whine when they don't want anything. They whine when they fight, they whine when they get in trouble. They whine when it's bedtime, they whine when it's time to get up. They whine when they have to share me, they whine when I try to hug them.

They whine when I ignore it, they whine when I don't.

Seriously. Help. How can I make it stop?

7 comments:

wearitbaseball said...

The only thing you can do is to take time for yourself and try to un"whine"d.

Jenny said...

Honey, if you figure it out... LET ME KNOW!!!

LisaRoze said...

ear plugs?

Unknown said...

Can we blame it on Britney Spears?

Dennis Boydstun said...

When you figure out how to make it stop, please write a book about it, it will be a number 1 best seller.

Eternal Sunshine said...

I've always told my kids that my ears jusr don't hear whining and that they will have to speak in a normal voice to get a response from me.

I just flat out refuse to respond to them until they stop the whining. It doesn't completely eliminate the problem, but it helps a lot.

tim's wife said...

I did this same thing. If the whining works for them, they continue the behavior. If it doesn't get them what they want and you insist they speak their needs in a normal voice, it does lessen. I have a niece that had a long career of whining because mommy gave her whatever she wished to shut her up. Positive re-enforcement works and that was exactly what she was doing.