There's an infant who's tugging on a protagonist's shirt and making 'mmmmm' sounds to indicate they're upset, but I don't know what the word for that is.
Whinging. Bloody attention seeking kids. Noises of distress? Whining? Plaintive mumblings? Depends what tone you're going for.
My brother described our baby sister as "whelping"...I think he'd conflated whining and yelping...not that she was producing a litter of pups!
Thanks guys, for context, a young child (not human, so ageing details are different, old enough to walk at six months and some very minor strength (moreso than you'd get with humans)) is making that sound because she doesn't want her brother (aged 8) to go somewhere dangerous (she's old enough to understand some speech, but not repeat it).
I do not think that there exists a sole word for such a meaningful action. What a fine idea! We should come up with one, just in case...