Whining! they do it most around me!

My girls are 20 months old. I am blessed, they really are good girls. But, they seem to whine more around me that anybody else! My DH thinks maybe I give in to them too much, but I really don't think I do! Sometimes I think they are just trying to get my attention, because I am a WOHM, but every waking chance to be with them, I am interacting/playing/whatever with them. My SIL watches them one day a week and she has even made the comment that they whine more when I'm around- what gives???

Does anyone else have this problem?

 

Yup! My girls do the exact same thing. Once my girls language abilities improved the whining seemed to decrease as well. However, they still whine more around me than they do anyone else. I make it clear that they don't get whatever it is that they want until they ask in their "big girl voice", and then they will typically re-ask the question without whining. I have zero patience for whining. It is a constant battle, and it drives me absolutely crazy!

 

First of all, let me say -- you are not alone!

It is a very rare thing indeed to have a toddler that doesn't whine at least a few times a day.

The good news is that the reason they whine the most towards you is that you are the one they feel most comfortable with. It makes sense that they would only reveal their true complaints (hence the whining) to the one person they know will still love them no matter what.

You are the person they trust the most, you are the primary caregiver, you are the #1 problem solver in their lives, so they go to YOU when they feel less-than-happy!

The bad news is that you're the one stuck listening to it all day. :laughing:

 

Yes, my kids are the same way. Babysitters always comment on how good they were, almost no crying, etc. Around me there are lots of meltdowns and whining. I am not sure why this is the case, but it's frustrating.

 

Yep what she said. They know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you will still love them even at their worst, which is why they act their worst around you and not around other people. Doesn't mean they are spoiled or you give into them more than anyone else, it's a developmental thing.

Once their language skills develop a little furthur, the whining will ease up, although it never truly goes away! :lol:

 

The same thing happens with us. My DH also says he thinks it is because I give in too much, but I prefer to think it is what the PPs said. I guess I'd much prefer it this way than for them to be perfect angels around me and whiny for everyone else!

 

Not only are my children less whiny everyone else they also sleep for 12 hours or more at night....and they NEVER do that for me. I think the most irritating part is hearing from all the grandparents "they never do this around us" or "we never see them like that". Maybe even worse is when I will call the grands at the end of my rope because I was up for three hours in the middle of the night and they are doing nothing but whining all day and the grands just laugh when I tell them I am about to lose my mind. I already feel bad enough and now the grands are just making me feel worse. I just have to remind myself that if they were the girls everyday all day the girls would eventually have these breakdowns in front of them. You need to remember that you are not new and different to them like someone else might be. Even when I talk to my friends that only have one child they tell me the same things about the whining.