toddlers who bite come pull up a chair

credcat7

So Sammie is19 months and has recently started the biting. We are trying to determine if there is a reason our is or is this just something all kids do.

1) she seems to do it out of frustration much of the time (if I don't let go of her hand when she is trying to pull away) or when she is on closer contact with us during a random hug

2) we have stopped using her pacifier during the day so she doesn't have that oral relief

3) she was an early teether with the first 16 teethall being in before 15 months, maybe2 year molars? ( I can't get a good look cuz she bites)

Insight from those who e
Been there done that please.

credcat7

@fredalina‌ thanks for sharing. I am really trying to determine what triggers her to do it, sounds like you did too. I do think its a communication/frustration thing but wonder how much other factors are at play

credcat7

Thanks @pobrecita‌ that was my other question, how do you handle it. For now I have her sit on her bottom wherever we are and step away so she focuses on me, then tell her no teeth, have her sit for a minute and end it with a kiss where she bit.
I think maybe I should not go so big deal on it?
Damn some of these bites hurt!

ready-or-not

DS is/was a biter from hell. Hes done it ever since he first got teeth. He was an early teether too & they came in fast & hard so not sure if that had something to do with it? With DS (2yo now) it seems to be more about getting your attention, or he just gets caught up in the moment when playing. Hes only done it once at DC thankfully. I have no real advice, but can offer all my sorries. He seems to be outgrowing it now, but it was hard not to throw him across the room when he would get you with those sharp little daggers!

chevronseven

So I guess biting back is out? (Kidding)

I like the suggestions above of highlighting that biting does not get you what you want and giving it minimal attention aside from letting the child know it's not ok. I got bit by a 4 year old in my preschool class last year, it's no fun. Hope it improves for you soon!

maven212

Hey @credcat7  - I don't know if you remember this but we went through something similar this past January. Something relatively minor would happen or LO would wake up in the middle of the night and we would have a long flip out session that involved hitting and scratching my face, and one bite. They would get to a point where LO would be banging her head on the floor. It was terrible. One time it went down in an airport…and it just went on and on and on. None of our troubleshooting seemed to work. 

So, with the head hitting we realized that most of what was happening was out of really jacked up frustration.  Most of the time, it was because she was hungry and had no means of telling us that. We taught her how to sign "hunger" and that resolved some of the problem. Basically she would flip out and we would take her to the kitchen, get her a little cup of milk and serve her a graham cracker or two, or berries and everything would calm down. 

With the airport, after much troubleshooting we realized she was really thirsty.

She has picked up more language and we don't get the same flips out anymore.

We were able to stop the scratching by saying "ow, that hurts mommy" when it happened. We would also say "I can't understand you when you scream. Please point. Mommy will help you" stuff like that. That all helped. BUT LO was 13 months then. The game has changed a little. She handles her frustration a little better, but she is also testing a lot of boundaries now. We've had many conversations that go like this

*LO holds rock near mouth*

"don't put that rock in your mouth"

*LO slowly bring rock closer to mouth*

"if you put that rock in your mouth, I'll take it away"

*LO slowly opens mouth*

*LO slowly starts to put rock in mouth*

"okay, that's it. Give it to me" *mommy yanks rock out of LO's hand*

This usually doesn't end with crying. It's an experiment for her. Biting might be that for Sammie.

 LO isn't violent with me anymore, but she will throw things when frustrated. When she does that, I say "don't throw things. if you need help, bring it to mommy" and try to figure out the underlying problem - it is almost always hunger or thirst in her case.  

So - I guess what I'm saying is I think you need to guess whether it is about testing boundaries or out of frustration….and take it from there.