Why is my 3 year old so whiny?

[roarrfeckingroar]

Is it because he's 3?

I struggle with whining. It's incessant. I try so hard to be understanding and gentle and encourage using his words and talking about his feelings but argh! He wanted to go scooting so we went scooting but within one road he just wanted to be pulled along then whined for the next 20 min.

How does everyone manage this without going mad?

Bumppppp

Hard to tell without more info. 20 mins is quite a long scoot of they're not in the mood. Was he hungry/ tired? Does he go to nursery?

I don't respond to whining, it becomes a habit if you're not careful. So a quick " Speak nicely, no whining" and get on with something else and lots of praise when they speak without whining.

Mines 25 now, but I used to say “I can’t hear you when you wine, please use your normal voice”. And be consistent. Only ‘hear’ him when he’s using a normal voice.
Took a while with my own children but I tried it with my DNiece recently and she found it so funny when I couldn’t hear her whiny voice and it stopped pretty quickly too.

@SoftandQuiet I say that too, or I ignore it until he stops, but I read something yesterday that said they can't help whining because it helps their emotional regulation or some bollocks so I felt guilty.

He is tired and a bit unwell. We all are. It's just so so hard to listen to the horrible whining noise when you're doing your best.

Are you sure he understands the concept of a tone of voice? I remember demonstrating for my dd in a calmer moment and checking she clearly understood what I was telling her to stop doing.

luckily they do stop whining quite so much but it’s only a short period until the sass kicks in

I totally feel this, especially today. Logically I know my lo is tired today, is full of snot, and might be a bit hungry as they've not eaten a lot. But the constant whining is insufferable. My eldest has come home from school I. A mood too, so I cannot wait for bed time lol

@Qwerty21 yes only 2 hours until bath time!

The baby by contrast is such a happy, content little thing.