Whining Only Gets You Hugs

There's a reason your kid's whining can undo you faster than almost any other sound: it's built to. Whining is wired to bypass your reasoning and grab you before you can think, the same channel that lets a real cry reach you in an emergency. This week I look at why that sound hijacks us, why it works (because it does), and how we can stop rewarding it without ever shutting our kids out. The motto in our house: whining only gets you hugs. The love is always available. The leverage is not. (Word count: 99)