with me. if i punished her every time she tried to express herself to me, she would eventually stop whining, but in the process stop talking to me. as frustrating as it can be, whining is the natural transition from crying to talking. rather than punishing for whining, or worse, ignoring it, use their whining as an opportunity to teach appropriate communication. if your child is whining because they want to eat, tell them to say "eat please" and do not answer their request until they have asked for it appropriately! this way you are not punishing them for trying to communicate, you are training them how to communicate in 