How to stop a child screaming when things don't go their way
Minor disappointments, like missing a playdate, can instantly trigger intense yelling and scream-crying. This habit of constant whining ruins fun vacations, causes severe public embarrassment, and creates fears that the child's outbursts will lead to social exclusion.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1explaining that it is okay to cry but not to screamDid this help you?
- 2prompting the child to ask for help before cryingDid this help you?
- 3ignoring the behaviorDid this help you?
- 4Pretending not to hear or understand the child until they use a normal voice.Did this help you?
- 5Telling the child they sound like a bee to playfully get them to switch voices.Did this help you?
- 6Exaggeratedly whining back at the child so they hear how it sounds.Did this help you?
- 7Shutting down the request entirely if it is asked for in a whine.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“my 4yo is whining about everything even when doing something fun. it’s like it developed into a habit.”source ↗
“In fact one time we were on vacation in a beautiful place and all he was doing was complaining the whole time.”source ↗
“Sometimes when things go wrong/ not his way he just scream cries. He goes from 0 to 100.”source ↗
“Recently there was a lot of yelling because he couldn’t have a play date after school. It was very embarrassing.”source ↗
“I don’t want him to be socially excluded because of his out bursts.”source ↗