I’m not 100% sure this is good advice. Actually, it may be awful advice and contradict every parenting book ever written. However, the last couple days when they start whining at me, I whine at them for a moment. They erupt into laughter at how ridiculous I sound. It has been stopping their whining right away and the moment has turned fun. I do it only for a sentence, and then I say, “Now doesn’t that sound goofy. It’s such a horrible sound.” They have been correcting their behavior and talking the right way. Again, I’m more into modeling the right way, but this seems to be a way to turn an ugly moment around, so I’m trying it for now.
