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How to deal with children's complaints

children's complaints

By Mohamed Abd ElrasheedPublished 7 months ago 3 min read
How to deal with children's complaints

Complaining is a common thing among children and can have different reasons, but many parents face difficulty in dealing with children’s complaining, so we show you in the following lines 4 ways to deal with children’s complaining

Why do children complain?

Janine Hayward, a professional clinical consultant, says that complaining is a natural thing for children, and she believes that this loud crying of children is a desperate call to get a specific thing, and this thing may be difficult to obtain.

Janine Hayward adds that children at the age of three and four years complain constantly because they have great desires and expectations, but they are often unable to get what they need.

As a result of this annoying behavior that children use to express their needs, parents are forced to respond to the children’s requests, even if they are terrible, in order to stop this noise that the child makes, but this method leads to increasing the problem and not solving it because, according to Janine Hayward, responding to the child’s requests quickly enhances his complaining behavior

What to do when your child complains

This loud tone that children use when they want something is common among children, but many parents are averse to complaining and want to find a way to deal with it, so we offer you the following tips to deal effectively with complaining.

Don't ignore your child

Rene Hackney, Ph.D., a developmental psychologist in Alexandria, Virginia, says that a child can complain for a long time and still be more steadfast and determined in his requests than parents who try to ignore him.

Therefore, it is better not to ignore the child. Instead, the child can be made to understand that he must use his normal voice to express his requests, because his loud voice makes it difficult to understand his needs.

Relate to your child's feelings

Parents should try to understand the reason for the complaining because the child can complain for various reasons, such as complaining because of hunger, so it is best to keep a light snack if you are taking your children on a trip.

The child may complain in order to try to control a certain situation, so it is better to try to involve your child in the work that you are doing. For example, if the child complains when the parents spend a long time in the supermarket, the parents can ask the child to choose the apples that they will buy or find out The number of news they bought

The child may also complain in order to vent or express himself, so give him the feeling that you understand his requests, but they cannot be fulfilled. For example, tell him that you know that he wants an extra balloon, but every child at the party cannot get just one balloon, and this will give him a convincing reason to reject his requests

Encourage your child to rephrase his request

Dr. Hackney says as soon as your child starts complaining, ask him to use his normal voice and tell him that he must say please and express what he wants clearly. When the child does this, the child is answered with acceptance or rejection, stating the reason for the rejection.

Reward your child for his effort

When a child asks for something in a nice and calm way, this can be an opportunity for parents to reinforce the child’s polite behavior. For example, when the child says, “I want to have a cake, please,” the father or mother’s response can be that it is a wonderful way to ask. It was very polite.

In the end, children’s complaining is one of the normal things that parents may encounter while dealing with children. Therefore, it is best to deal with complaining in the best ways so that children’s complaining does not increase and the problem does not worsen.

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About the Creator

Mohamed Abd Elrasheed

I am a content writer who has been writing articles since 2019 until now. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Social Service and obtained postgraduate studies

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