> To whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly.

I'm not sure the parent is quite using it correctly: either they're just using it to mean "complain" (which I'd disagree with; the word to me definitely carries the "needless" connotation.) or they're engaging in a bit of self-deprecating humor that just isn't really coming across fully.

It's a bit of a regional word, in the US. (Regional to PA, IME.)