You Want Some Cheese With That?

The whining is becoming an issue.  Tamara reminded me that we went through something similar with Griffin, but I don’t recall it being this bad.

Gage has taken to having a whining, crying fit about everything.  Just the other day, I was trying to get our morning routine kick started, when Gage came out of the bedroom in a thorough grump.  I can tell it’s going to be one of those mornings when the brothers are into it before breakfast even hits the table.

Tamara came out a short while later and asked, “What’s Gage been crying over?”

I said, “Take your pick.  It could have been when I told him that we needed to change his diaper, or when I told him to go use the potty, or when I flushed the toilet without giving him a chance to do it, or when a bite of Eggo dropped off the end of his fork.”

It’s extremely irritating that most of the time you don’t even know what he’s crying about.  He just sits down in the floor and starts wailing over some real or imagined slight.  He’s even taken to whopping himself in the head every once in a while.  That’s an attractive trait.

If this truly is similar to what Griffin went through, then it has a lot to do with learning how to communicate.  Once Tamara reminded me of what happened with our eldest, it gave me hope that we can work through it with Gage too.  It was a lot of effort to reign in my frustration and apply the appropriate amount of patience, but we managed to help Griffin get a good command on expressing his feelings.  I think that’s pretty obvious if you’ve ever been around him.  The kid talks.  A lot.

With Gage, it will be a process of convincing him that we can’t understand what he’s saying when he’s whining or crying.  Then, helping him find the words to describe what’s bothering him.  And finally, giving some sort of positive feedback on those expressions, so that he can associate a good outcome with the process of communicating the way we want him to.  It’s easy to say, but a lot of work to actually do, especially when you’re busy enough with other things.

And don’t think for a moment that the irony of me whining about how my child is whiny is completely lost on me.  It’s not.  Around our house, if it walks, it whines.  The worst culprit of all is probably our dog, the ten year old Whine-a-ramer, I mean Weimaraner.  But I suppose that makes sense if you stop and think about it.  She’s got the most obstacles to overcome in the area of communication.