My Child Is Biting!!!

It's normal. She'll eventually get over it. Just keep reminding her that "we don't bite people", adn that it's not nice. It may take for another kid to bite her back before she gets the hint!

Hi K.,

I had the same problem with a girl I took care of when I was a nanny. I tried several things but the one thing that worked was... I'd just bite her back. Everytime she bit someone either I'd bite her or they would bite her (ie her sister, parents, and other family) After a couple weeks she completely stopped biting. Good Luck.

D.

Hi K.,

I have no idea what to do since one of my twins is also biting her sister. What I have been doing is flicking her, so it stings and she cries, on her cheek. And, I slap her on her hand.

She seems to have no empathy at this age. And, this is normal. I just wish it was not.

My Mom and sister suggested I bite her back so she knows what she is doing is bad and hurts people. I have not tried this method yet, but I want to....

It hurts me to see one of my twins hurting the other twin.
And, this has NOTHING to do with them teething...It might be jealosy? I do not know or understand.

This is only a phase I hope and pray!!

Hope this helps you............ :- O

this is all normal behavior. She is trying to communicate. Be real firm and sit her down and say "No Biting Biting Hurts". then go see if the victim is okay. Be consistent. Try to notice why she is biting so you can catch her before she tries to bite. Dont forget to reward her for good behavior. good luck and dont forget "this will pass".

Hi,
I personally am going through this and it has been a year, and my son stil bites, not as much as he use to but when he is mad. He is now 2 1/2 and I dont know what to do. I personally believe that he thinks "if mommy bites me than why cant I do it." I dont know what to do and have no answers but thought you would feel better to know you are not alone.

My suggestion is to ignore and redirect. Now, I took a class a month ago on the aggressive behaviors and they recommend that if the child bites you whether it being a finger or arm....To remove the child...Simply push up into the child's "bite" and remove your body part from the child's mouth. It's h*** o* the child to bite--Never, Ever pull the skin out or you'll see the effects and won't be pretty.
Hang in there. Best thing rather than fight it...Ignore it and move on. Kudos for asking. Oh and it's a behavioral thing for attention during that growth time.

My 17 month old bites sometimes too. I try to say ouch! and then I get a sad or disapponted look on my face and tell her that biting is Not OK. Be consistant and it will stop. I believe kids, especially at this age want the approval of their parents. Use that to your advantage. Time out's don't work for my baby yet, but you might want to try that too.

Dear K.,

Yes, well they all do that. She is trying to communicate, and doesn't have the words yet. Just redirect her - find something else for her to do quickly after quietly saying no and that hurts people. Remember, she might cry when you take her away from her biting activity, but that is o.k., and she is learning that you are the boss. Children need the security of knowing that we care enough for them to show them how to act and keep them safe. Actually, it is not safe for her to continue to bite, because it won't be long before a little friend will bite her back!

Isn't the 18 month stage the cutest !

C. N.

I flik my son in his teeth for biting me. Thank goodness it is only me that he bits. My duaghter was kicked out of the school I worked at for bitting. Its communication. speak clearly and watch the changes...Good luck

I wish I had a good answer for that. My daughter was also a biter. This was her way of letting me know that she needed something but was unable to communicate. I guess the only advise I have is explain to her that it hurts, tell her not to do it. And follow thru with a punishment (Time out may not work at this age,AND I don't believe in slapping) I try to avoid the word no, that word eventually sounds like blah blah blah to our children. If you think it is because of a tooth coming in then I would redirect her attentionn, to what she can chew on, ie. frozen bagel, wet facecloth, teething ring ect. Sometimes they even bite because of an ear infection. So, I would rule out a medical reason.

But just like everything else.....THIS IS A PHASE! IT MAY SEEM LIKE AN EXTREME CHALLENGE THEN THE PHASE ENDS AND IT DOESN'T SEEM SO BAD, UNTIL WHAT EVER THE NEXT PHASE IS. THEN YOU ALWAYS WONDER.....HOW WILL WE MAKE IT THRU THIS.

H. B.

i know that it sounds bad, but bite back, softly, just once. hopefully it will put things in perspective a little better for her. my 5 year old went through a biting phase at 3. dont worry, it will pass.

I know this is going to sound a bit mean but my son did the same thing. I think it is a stage they go through. However, when he tried to bite myself or my husband, or when we saw him trying to bite someone else, we would walk over grab his arm and bite his arm. After a couple of times he stopped biting people. I guess he realized that biting hurts and its not nice. We havent had the issue since.

My child is also 18 months old and we have had our struggles with the same thing (biting). I feel it is a personal matter when deciding what is the best disciplinary action to take, but personally I have found stating your pain ("Ouch!") does send the message quite well without having to go to extreme measures.
All children are different, so do what you feel is right.

i have a 7 yr old girl and a 2 yr old boy with both of them when ever they would bite i bit them back,regardless if he bit her or another child... i didn't do it very hard but it shows that it hurts and well they have since stopped.. well my 7 yr old stopped along time ago... but i just recently went through that with my son...oh yeah and if he would bite on the leg that is where i would bite him... in the same spot.. just not "too hard"

Hi K.,
when my oldest daughter was almost 2 she started biting. but she would only do it if she got in trouble, then one day she bit me for no reason and broke skin, so i bit her back, only hard enough that she would know what it felt like, i didnt break the skin, and the mark went away a few minutes later. after that she never bit anybody else again. some people thought i was being mean for doing that, but i didn't know what else to do so i tried it, and it worked.

Hi K.. I have 18 month old twins and they both bite. I tried to bite back and it made me cry harder then them!!! You need to make sure they know it is bad. I flick them in their mouths or if I catch them geting ready to bite I will make them bite their own hand. It works really well. I just push their hand into the top teeth and they see it hurts. They both have been doing really well, except when a tooth is coming in they seem to want to start biting again. Good luck I know it is stressful.

I went to a child development training for work the other day and the presenter suggested that you say, "Ken (or the name of whomever was bit) is not for biting", but this (empty paper egg cartons) is for biting. He suggested that you give the child an alternative (i.e., egg cartons) and explain that biting others is hurtful. As others have mentioned, kids at this age lack the ability to communicate everything, so biting is a form of expression. Be consistent and good luck.

Is she teething?
My son (13 months) starts to bite when he is cutting a new tooth. My daughter did the same thing.
I just gently tell him no and then I make sure he has something else to chew on besides me.