Likely causes include fatigue, hunger, frustration, boredom, sensory overload, tussle with siblings, pain or illness. Most whiny episodes, as mentioned above, have largely to do with children's inability to perceive or communicate their wants. Here is a list of common reasons why a child whines:





a) wanting something she can't have - it can be something as mundane as the sweets you said 'no' to, to the bigger things like wanting to use your laptop as his plaything, and I mean literally treating it as if it were his toy car. Toddlers have a hard time accepting that they cannot have everything that they want.



b) Most tantrums result because of wanting your attention - kids know that a certain amount of misbehavior can have their parents reacting. It is best to not make a fuss about things when they get into this mode. Even if it gets tedious for you, acting calm and somewhat indifferent helps to send the message that their attention-seeking ways is not going to work here.





c) Over-stimulation - although most toddlers enjoy going out to malls, attending birthday parties, it can get quite overwhelming for them to the point they start reacting to these unfamiliar surroundings and faces. Some children start to whine or cry simply because the unfamiliar gets to them.





d) Internal frustration - the inability to do something right after several attempts or the lack of language skills to get his point across can get the engine revving. Toddlers are determined little people who want to put their own clothes on, organize their drawer or shelf with help from no one, etc only to find themselves stuck half-way. Or he may want his fire-truck from the top shelf of the cupboard or ice-popsicle from the freezer and despite repeatedly asking, he is not able to make you understand. Situations like these give rise to internal anger with himself and manifests as tantrums.





e) Fatigue or a hungry tummy - These factors always make it worse for your toddler to cope with whatever else she has to handle. Because she is already tired or is handling a growling stomach, it will take very little else to set her off. Kids get easily worked up when they are not physically settled.