My son just turned one last week. He is delightful except for the bitting!
For about a month he has been bitting. He bites everything. It is hard because I don't know where to draw the line and how to always respond. It is okay for him to bite toys obviously. When he bites furniture I usually ignore it but that is starting to be a problem on a certain chair that he could puncture the fabric of. He often bites my clothing. I was ignoring that too but depending on what I am wearing he sometimes bites through the fabric. He also sometimes bites me, especially my shoulder when I am carrying him.
What I have tried:
* Ignoring it
* Saying ouch. He does this fake cry thing and then sometimes does it again right away
* Say no firmly while looking in his eyes. Sometimes he doesn't really react. Other times he cries and cries and cries.
* Today I started to give him a stuff animal or something he can bite and say, "It hurts mom when you bite but you can bite this instead.
It is hard because he is still young enough that I don't think he really understands that he is hurting me. He doesn't seem to bite anyone else.
I don't know if he is actively teething but this has been going on for a month and no teeth have broken through during that time.
Any suggestions? Or did you go through a similar experience?
I went through the same thing. Directing him to something that he can bite is a good thing. I would say ouch! That hurts mommy, and gives her a boo-boo. Can you kiss it better? I would then ask for a hug and tell him that we don't hurt each other. It is a phase though, and seems to affect moms more than dads for some reason.
So many great suggestions. A question here--is there some teething going on? Sometimes biting is a great relief for their little mouths, and if there's a lot of drool, that's an indicator. Teething can also happen without any immediate breakthrough, as the teeth have quite a journey before eruption.
If your son needs to be sitting on your lap, when you provide the correction, ("Biting hurts." and offer a suitable substitute) be sure to turn him around facing away from you, so he can focus on the toy/teether. I would curb the furniture biting too. Can you offer a damp washcloth which lives in the freezer sometimes? The cold can offer relief. Some children like teethers, some don't. There's a company that makes strap covers, so when babies chew on the straps of a carrier, they won't destroy the fabric.
Be consistent with providing suitable alternatives, be sure to put him down when he's biting you as another poster suggested (or, as I mentioned, turn him away so there's no face-to-face contact---he'll eventually get the message) and keep up your great attitude--kids often don't bite with intent to hurt until they're quite a bit older; and then it often has more to do with a lack of social skills than any malicious intent. Your baby is very lucky to have such an understanding mom!
Tell him NO, then put him on the floor and walk out of the room. Leave him there for one minute. That's how we handled it with our boy, and he stopped biting us in about a month.
Good luck.
My 15 month old bites on occassion, but usually stops if I calmly say "No biting" and then put him on the floor. If he protests I say, "If you bite me, I will not hold you. Biting hurts." That's usually enough for him to not repeat the behavior for at least a few days.
I was going through the same thing recently. I have a 14 month old boy and sometimes when he gets really frustrated about something he bites. It is usually only me and never my husband. I always tell him no and it hurts mommy. That does not seem to do much. What I did start doing and seems to be working is when I see he is in line to bite me or my clothes I just move my arm or fingers out of the way. He does not go after them, it is only that he will bite whatever is in his way if he is mad. Good luck.
My son bit in daycare, it got so bad I used to be very embarassed whenever I had to go and pick him up..there was always a new "victim"!!! I laugh about it now, but I sure would have worn a wig and some shades on some days so other parents would not recognize me!!! I tried EVERYTHING but in the end it was a phase and it did go away when he stared to talk and relieved his frustration. Growing up does wonders even for the toughest biters, so hang in there, get used to apologize and ask the teacher to stay closer to your child in order to avoid "attacks"..it'll get better!
I am going through this right now too. It sounds like you are doing the right action for it. My little one will bite either my skin or try to bite my clothes, almost like she is trying to make a hole. I know its not on purpose, but it is really frusterating.
I think they are exploring their environment orally. I think they feel safe with us so we are a 'safe place' to try new things on.
Good luck!
