April 2011 Moms
stephanie_shoe
member
Going through the terrible-two's way early!
stephanie_shoe
member
I don't know where this is coming from, but all of a sudden my good-natured 14month old has become a monster. Biting, kicking, screaming, etc...every day. I have to assume that part of it is frustration, and she is expressing herself the only way she knows how, but I am at the end of my rope!
Any suggestions to curb the biting? I can deal with the screaming and stomping and kicking--but I will not tolerate the biting.
Stephanie Hsu
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Re: Going through the terrible-two's way early!
Chase went through the biting thing about a month ago. As PP said, he just thought it was funny. Every time he did it we would say "Ouch, don't bite, that hurts!" Then carry him to his room, put him down, and walk away. It wasn't really a time-out, since there was no way to keep him there, but we would go through the motions each time. Since he would bite for attention, we would put him down away from us. I'm not sure if he made the connection or not, but after about a week and a half of this, the biting became much more infrequent and now he never bites us.
I'm not sure what to do about the tantrums. Good luck!
I'll have to remember this. Andrew went through a little biting phase a while ago and we weren't sure how to handle it. We did the "Ouch, that hurts! No biting!" part, but didn't separate him from us. If he starts up again I will keep that in mind.
Instead of stopping this behavior, have you thought about why she's doing it? I'm no expert (or anything remotely close, we're all just stumbling through this parenting gig together)...but have you tried a different response? These 13 and 14 month olds don't understand when we reason with them - of course it makes sense to us to say "ouch that hurts!" and then try to punish them so they learn a lesson - but what message is that really sending. When they're throwing a tantrum, can you go outside for a walk? Distract? Show that we kiss instead of bite? Give her a different outlet for these new emotions.
It's so easy for us parents to see this "bad" behavior and get angry with our kid and try to fix it. I know my first response would be the same thing and I'll admit we're not in the biting stage so this is all so easy for me to say. But if we stop for a second and see the situation through their eyes and remember that they've only been experiencing these strong emotions for a couple months now and flat out don't know how to handle them - maybe we can have the grace to work with our kids instead of against them. empathy will always go much further than punishment.
I hope none of that was offensive. Just my two cents and a different perspective. Good luck, mama
growing a foosa
yes DS is throwing tantrums...he flails his head back and cries like a little drama queen! pretty funny to watch but i try to just ignore him when he's acting that way.
i don't spank or hit back if he does i just ignore it. although can be hard when i public!
Chase does this sometimes. It is really annoying, but I found that if I tickle his belly, he will usually giggle and relax so I can get him buckled in. One advantage to having a ticklish baby.