Stop the Whining!

We have a standing tradition to spend New Years Eve with dear friends of ours.  (They also have 5 children so it is a house full of fun with all 10 children playing throughout the day and into the night.)  As we were preparing the house to have guests, I was gently reminded of a wonderful cure for whining.

I don't know about your family, but there is a sense of purposelessness that seems to creep into ours by the last part of Christmas break.  Children are enjoying their Christmas gifts, and indulging themselves in purely self-oriented activities.  A couple days of that and it hits.  It usually starts with the youngest, and works its way up the ranks...occasionally reaching the parents.  There are few things as exhausting to both the parents and the children as whining.  The root of it comes from an ungrateful attitude.  A healthy dose of it and a parent's resolve begins to wane.  In those moments Bill Cosby's stand-up routine on parenthood comes to mind, "Parents aren't interested in JUSTICE. Parents want QUIET!"

So, back to New Year's Eve.  I had a whole list of things to clean and do before our guests arrived.  At my husband's request I wrote them down for all to see.  ( side note: This is a handy way for everyone in the family to get on the game plan with you.  I find that the momentum stays high when the kids can go to the list for the next thing to do, instead of to me.)  We turned on some music, and we worked.  Music playing, happy children and NO whining.  Why?  When children have occupation, and work that causes them to serve others, they have a sense of purpose...then thankfulness begins to take root and grow again.  It's funny how we can forget things that have worked so many times before.  That morning I was reminded that when our older children whine, we put them to work, and a sunny disposition is usually not too far behind.

That isn't always so easy to do with the 3 and under group.  So here is a little tip we picked up from a reader of the No Greater Joy magazine.  When our 18month-3 yro gets a case of the whines, we give them whining medicine.  Whining medicine is a wonderful concoction of vinegar, soy sauce, hot mustard, and any other condiment that you might want to throw in for EXTRA flavor.  Just a teaspoon of whining medicine and our young children are cured.  When they would whine we would sweetly say, "Oh no, it sounds like you need whining medicine."  And after a couple of doses we would usually hear, "I happy...see I HAPPY!" (with grins to prove it.)


Well, again...we are exposing our weirdness before you.  Take what you will and see what works for your family...if it doesn't, toss it and think of something that will....but don't let whining take root in your home. It damages the little one's hearts to think that the world revolves around them, and it makes them less pleasant for you to be around...and you are around them A LOT...so help them to be pleasant, and everyone wins!