depending on the way she communicates her need.

My daughter will whine in such a pathetic way when she either wants something or stubs her toe or any of the above. If she falls she'll look at me and I'll hit her with a simple "You ok?" and that's usually enough for her to just keep it movin if it's something inconsequential.

If she wants assistance or attention, she won't get it until she relaxes and communicates what she needs without the whining. Its at a point now where I can simply look at her or say "HEY!" and she knows to chill on the whining. Not always but often enough it's that simple.

Now, if she genuinely gets hurt and the floodgates are open- if you're a parent you know that particular cry- that's a different story and I'm in full daddy mode.

I'll utilize the same rules with my son, and I refuse to play the "man up" card. I want to raise children who have the tools to tough out hard situations but aren't in fear of breaking some absurd archaic gender assignments that determine what's acceptable. Rather, they should learn how to navigate the world in such a way that they recognize that a. nobody likes a crybaby and won't respond well to that and 2. people are still compassionate and (ideally) will be there when you're dealing with something deathly serious and even if they aren't, my children will be strong enough to pull themselves together.

So if my son or daughter cries, so be it, we'll handle that on a case by case basis but if either of them are a moping, whining attention seeker, they'll learn how fruitless an endeavor that really is.