Umm...biting?

My daughter would do this and I found that she was most prone to biting when she was overstimulated. This might mean she was in a room with too much noise or too many children, or maybe that she was over-tired. If I noticed that the situation migt lead to biting, I'd give her some time alone in her crib/playpen/bedroom. A 10- or 20-minute break was enough for her to relax. Of course, if it was near nap time, the nap would solve the problem. In fact, long after she dropped her morning nap, we still kept a 30-min morning "break" or rest time simply because she needed that alone time to recharge.

Frustration can also lead to biting simply because kids this age often don't have the communication skills to get their point across. Work with him on simple words to let you know what he wants ("no thank you" or "stop" or whatever) or teach him simple sign language. My son is now trying to bite me when he's not getting his way. If I am holding him, I put him down and say "I will hold you when you are acting nice." If he keeps it up, I march him straight to his room for a little time out, and tell him the same thing again, "You may join us for more play time when you're being nice."

Basically, whether the cause for biting is overstimulation or frustration, the consequence is the same: remove the child from the situation.

Good news is that the biting should stop by the time he's 3.

I would never solve biting with more biting (or even pretend that you will). In fact, if a preschool or daycare worker were to do that, I'd report them.

Are your children biting you, other children, or each other? I ask because my son has a tendency to bite me, but has only bit at school on two occasions that I recall. He's always the one getting bit. I have been a toddler teacher and have witnessed biting incidences first hand. Left teaching because I prefer the corporate world if I must work. My time spent in childcare did teach me a lot.

My son is 2 and I can usually tell when he's going to bite. He does get frustrated at times and simply cannot explain his frustration so he bites. I absolutely do not condone the behavior but I can understand why he does what he does. I also have the "No Biting" book and try to offer other suggestions when it comes to biting. Like letting him know what is acceptable to bite. I know, try to reason with a two year old. LoL! I also encourage him to use his words and try to express himself.

Good luck. I was just watch them over the next few weeks and see what leads up to the biting. I would definitely let the teacher know, as a heads up, that your son has a tendency to bite when ..... If she notices that happen in her class she can be proactive and redirect or separate the child from the incident. Let us know what happens.

There are several books targeted to that age range that are good, we used one called "No Biting!" with some success.
We read it every night for a couple months till the behavior subsided.
I agree you should let the teachers know, also ask how they deal with biting so you can be consistent at home. The most successful approach I've seen (after having my two biters in 4 daycares) was a shadowing approach: if a child bites more than 2 times in one day they are put on 'shadow', they have to be within arms reach of a teacher at all times. The kids Hated the isolation and it worked really well.
Good luck, they will grow out of it, and remember it tends to be cyclical - they'll bite for a while, stop, then start again.

From a teacher, I would tell the teachers. Just to give them
forwarning for the other children. It does stop, but you have
to be diligent about it. Consistency, punishments, and rewards is the trick. I would also pretend that I was going to bite the child back. I know that is what the books teach you not to do, but sometimes it's necessary to scare them. Mind you, I never, ever bit a child.

Praise them for also handling a stressful situation well & using their words instead of biting. Good luck!!