18 month olds biting everyone!

MagicLana

So my girls who are just 18 months old seem to be biting everyone, each other, themselves, their brother if they manage to catch him.  It's mostly when they are frustrated and they do the most damage to each other because sometimes i don't see her going in for the bite.  I'm not really sure what steps to break this habit,  lately i've been taken away the injured baby and giving her the attention, love and kisses.  Often though, who ever did the biting will seem remorseful almost and turn her attack on her own fingers/hands.   

beccalee721

My DD went through her biting phase right around 17-18 months. At daycare she would bite if the other kids got in her "bubble", but she did more damage to herself though. It was a teething / frustration phase that lasted 2-3 weeks I think. At day care (she's an only child at home) they started recognizing the signs that she was going to bite and kept a close eye on her and if she bit DH or myself we told her "no no" and "ouchies" and made her give us a hug to apologize since she didn't understand time out, but knew we get hugs when we have "ouchies". I think it was mostly a frustration about her communication skills and she didn't know how to communicate her thoughts.

cozybluebear

I read on The Bump that if your toddler bites, bite him back. Sounds horrible, I know! It was on one of those "unconventional parenting tips that work" articles. My son went through a stage for about 3 days where he was biting so I gently bit him back... not enough to hurt but enough to shock him. He's 18 months now and hasn't bitten one time since.

loeroam

I am having the same problem with my 17 month old.  He has never bitten before, and all of a sudden, he has bitten a kid in day care 2 days in a row to get a toy, he bit me to get my cell phone, and he bit me when I tried to let my husband go to the bathroom alone and went to shut the bathroom door for him.  This is just in the last 3 days.  My best friend has a degree in early child development.  She told me when he bites at home, I should tap his lips with my finger, tell him no, stop what I was doing with him and sit him down, and walk away from him.

I can't tell you if it works, we are trying that right now.  So far, he just just stands up and walks to our dog for a hug.

dkny155

My dd is 16mth and she bites when she gets mad or frustrated. If I try to bring her inside or hold her hand to go in a different direction her first instinct is to bite. It's crazy. We have been stopping what we are doing to reprimand her and also trying to slip her own hand in place of ours if we see her getting ready to do it. Hopefully this will pass