Two Types of Whiners

04/21/2014

They gave him a seashell: 'So you'll learn to love the water.' They opened a cage and let a bird go free: 'So you'll learn to love the air.' They gave him a geranium: 'So you'll learn to love the Earth.' And they gave him a little bottle sealed up tight. 'Don't ever, ever open it. So you'll learn to love mystery.'
Eduardo Galeano

Holly Elissa Bruno, in her book, What You Need to Lead an Early Childhood Program, talks about two types of whiners:

"Situational whiners struggle with a specific dilemma they can't resolve alone. Partner with them to resolve the dilemma. With solutions spelled out and action taken, their burden lifts and whining stops. In other words, once you help the lion remove the thorn from its paw, he heals and returns to his daily path.

"Chronic whiners are trapped in their world of no solutions. They suffer from a severe inability to see what could be and should be, but compensate with the ability to see only what's wrong with what was or what is. The thorn in this lion's paw becomes a thorn in your side."

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