TTMA Biting

[mrsdee1982]

2 nights ago, C got frustrated at dinner time and bit her arm, hard.  She immediately regretted this choice, and many tears followed.  Then yesterday, she was frustrated in her carseat and she bit her hand.  Again, many tears.  I am just waiting for the day when she realizes that biting someone else out of frustration doesn't hurt her.  I do not want a biter.  How would you guys handle this?  How would you nip this in the bud, before she turns piranha on others?  

[jillywilly]

We have another biter, and do similar to budders, just tell him "no bite," offer something better to bite on, like a paci or toy, and hope the phase passes with age (I'm told it will).

Here's a fun shoot-off though, the biting has actually lessened, but a new favorite activity of DS' is taking hard, plastic toys, and chucking them. At my brand new wood floors, at the dog, and at my ankle over the weekend. I've heard a minute time out for every year old the child is, so when DS hurt my ankle over the weekend, H actually picked him up, told him we don't throw things, and held him so he stood in a corner for a minute. I can't speak for the effectiveness of that method yet - we just tried it the one time he nailed my ankle and hasn't really thrown anything he shouldn't since, so we'll see how that goes. I'm not sure if they're still too little to 100% grasp the concept, but I'm hoping if we develop a sound system both H and I follow, as he grows and understands more it'll become effective, especially since DS is beginning to be capable of inflicting more actual damage to objects, people, and the dog.

[mrsdee1982]

Sigh... I was hoping to skip this phase

[tiffbot]

Yea, DS was my biter too. As others said it improved with language and better communication. He did go through a little biting phase again then when DD was a baby too. I hated it, but all I can say is it's over now. So best wishes moving forward and getting through it!

[Bluedaisy]

Also have a biter. I honestly think at this age it's part of normal development. But daycare said it hasn't happened in a while so fingers crossed it was a short phase. Part of me wonders if getting bit by someone else at daycare helped him understand that biting hurts. But I have no idea, just glad that I haven't had to sign an incident report lately.

[islandgirl14]

I have no good advice, but wanted to throw in that J is a biter too. He doesn't bite himself, but others. DS1 never did, so this is new territory for us. We also tell him a firm "no bite", which sometimes gets him so upset that he ends up crying, but yet will turn around and do it again 5 minutes later.

It's seeming to not matter what we say or do to correct this, so as others mentioned hopefully once his language etc develops more this will become a thing of the past!

[veggiemo]

At least she's only biting herself so far! Ha. But in all seriousness, I think as others have said if you have a biter you just have to wait for the phase to pass. When I was worked in a daycare, we always tried to give all the attention to the child who was bit, instead of going straight to the offender. That way they weren't getting any attention, negative or otherwise for the behavior.

[mcp6286]

H bites all the time, usually when playing but sometimes when she's mad. We started putting her in timeout...she's a little young for it, but it seems to give her time to calm down and listen to our instructions not to bite.