KISS- Keep It Simple Sweetie. I’m sure you’ve heard this before but when it comes to raising our kids this adage rings true. I’m not sure what prompted me to do this but the last few weeks I have started setting the alarm on my cellphone as a signal to Tyler that I will no longer tolerate any more whining from him after the alarm sounds. Whining is one behavior that seems to be getting out of hand. What surprised me about setting the alarm is that it has worked well. A simple idea but very effective.
Here’s how I have handled Tyler’s whining lately. After he has whined to the point where my ears seem like they are about to start bleeding, I give him a warning to stop whining. If he continues after the warning, I set the alarm for 15 minutes. I figure that’s enough time for him to calm himself down. I let him know that if he so much as thinks about whining after the alarm has sounded he will be punished. However, I’m a fair person so I decided that if he whines once after the alarm goes off I will remind him. But after that I will proceed with the punishment. I had to set the alarm four times in seven days and I had to remind him twice (on separate occasion) that we had entered the “whine-free“ zone. I’m please to report that after setting the alarm and the two warnings, I have not had to punish him. This method can be used for other troubling behaviors and since I always have my phone with me I can set the alarm wherever we are.
I mentioned earlier that distraction and speaking softly are two additional techniques that have worked well with Tyler. Techniques that I am revisiting from his younger days. Both methods have continued to work for me now just as they did previously.
Hey, is parenting actually getting easier? I’m beginning to think that perhaps it is.
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