Nursery World - Positive Relationships: Behaviour

A whingeing child gains attention in a negative way. Dr Maria Robinson advises on how best to respond.

'In our nursery, we have a three-year-old boy who whines continually. He wants a toy that another child has; he doesn't want his lunch ... and so the day continues. Why do some children whine? What can you do to stop it? And is there, indeed, anything to prevent it from happening at all?'

I am sure many readers will identify with the writer of this problem, as 'whining' is something that nearly all young children do. In fact, a search on Google for whining in young children produces more than a million hits. However, whining is not confined to children. We have all met adults who whine - and teenagers can be masters of the art. For example, 'Why do I have to do the washing-up', 'Why can't I go out', and so on.

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