'My kid has been complaining the whole school holidays'

“Whether I ask him to pick up his socks or clear his breakfast dish, this kid whinges about every single little thing,” the frustrated mum reveals.

If you’re like me, there has been no end to the complaining these school holidays.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, your kids are angels, or you’re a liar.

Either way, I don’t want you to feel like you’re missing out, so let me tell you how my school holidays have gone.

First, my three kids whined because Christmas wasn’t coming soon enough, then they whined because they didn’t like the food I made for Christmas dinner.

After that they whined that we weren’t letting them stay up until midnight on New Year’s Eve, then there was whining that the older brother pushed the younger brother on the trampoline, and more whining because the younger brother stole the older brother’s favourite book.

There has been complaining about chores, boredom, exhaustion when we go out and do things, complaining when it’s too rainy, when it’s too hot, when they eat all the food and I haven’t done the shopping yet.

Get the picture? Renae* does, because she recently posted on Reddit, “My seven-year-old said, ‘What do I have to do everything??’ after I asked him to grab a piece of cutlery and pick out the fruit he wanted.”

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this.

Renae's son wanted his mum to do everything for him. Photo: iStock

Mum asks for advice to stop son complaining

Renae was obviously feeling school holidays overload, because her answer was snappy.

“Do I make you cook your own meals?” she demanded of her son.

“Do you own laundry? Pack your own lunch? Do the dishes? No, no, no, and no.

“Get up and do what I asked of you otherwise you lose a [privilege].”

His response? Mum’s being mean.

RELATED: Bride slammed for complaining about Kmart gift

“It’s very basic things, yet he acts as if I’m forcing him to run a cross-country marathon.”

She came to the forum for advice, and plenty of people offered words of support.

One parent said natural consequences were the way to go.

“When my kids do this, I just act matter-of-fact and tell them I guess they’re not getting their fruit or whatever it is they expect me to do for them,” they said.

“This 100 percent,” said another. “’Mum! I need more water!’ ‘OK you know where the water is’.”

“’I hate doing all the things too kid’ is probably the wrong response, but definitely my first instinct,” one person said.

“Not wrong at all. I used to think this was the wrong approach until a parenting coach told me to say it!,” replied another. “It’s way more validating for the kid than pretending it’s all fun and games. The kid just wants acknowledgement that they aren’t happy.”

*Names have been changed

This article was initially published in January 2024 and was updated in October 2024. 

Originally published as 'My kid has been complaining the whole school holidays'