Not sure if it normal for a 4 year old but my son is constantly whinning. From the time I get home from work to the time I get him to bed it never stops. Unless we do whatever he want as the time of course. But i don't give yo him so it seems pretty constant.
Could it be lack of attention or fun activities for him to do durning the day? Me and my wife do spend too much times on our phones. Which I am currently working on correcting.
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Then say something like, "If you can ask for X in a nice tone of voice, you can have X", or "We can't do X right now, no matter how many times you ask for it. We will do X after dinner/when Daddy is off the phone/when the numbers on the clock say 315".
And yes, if you can identify that some of it is just attention-seeking behavior, then spend time with him that is not begun by him whining about something.
I notice a big difference if we all do some physical activities. Moving gets the endorphins flowing, makes the stress chemicals goes away, and makes everyone happier.
We do a walk after dinner when the weather is nice. If it's yucky then we jump on the bed, or have a pillow fight, or dance.
We also have no devices time from 6:30 until DS' bedtime unless something is very urgent, or one parent is engaged with him, and the other sneaks away.
I also think they learn what works to get what they want. So, someone is likely giving in just to make the whining stop! You have to hold strong, even if it is awful for a week or two. Redirect to something else. Make sure they are getting good attention. Make sure they are well fed and not over-tired, etc. to make that transition period a little easier.
Presto, they didn't whine...with me (and I spent A LOT of time with them). It also snapped them out of it because I'd squint at them and say "now in Portuguese, I think that's what you're speaking, you're saying that you want to help me clean the cat box" or something silly.
p.s. If you think you're probably on your phone too much, you probably are.
I noticed yesterday after my mother watched the kids there was significantly less whinning. She is low tech and is almost never on the phone. And is always taking them out to do fun things. Basically now I feel terrible for spending too much time on my phone.
New rule, phone is upstairs after 630pm. I was already working on getting the kids out more so that has been going well.
2. The best way to reinforce a behavior is through an intermittent reinforcement schedule. Think of a slot machine. With a slot machine, one never knows when he will win. It is not dependent on time or on the number of times one plays the slot machine. Randomly, one receives a payout (reinforcement). If you or your wife randomly give in to your son when he is whining, you have set up an intermittent reinforcement schedule. He will have learned that sometimes when he whines, he quickly receives attention--sometimes it takes much longer. But eventually, he will receive your attention.
Now if #1 and #2 are happening in conjunction, it's time to start providing positive attention to your son and ignore and/or provide consequences for whining (e.g., time out) to extinguish the whining behavior.
And as noted above, it is also important to teach your son the appropriate way to ask to get what he wants--if what he is asking for is appropriate.
It's amazing how efficient food is as a basic motivator.
On a related note, I had a happy moment when we had dinner out the other night and my two year old said 'Thank you' unprompted every time I refilled her plate.