I think we have a biter... need suggestions.

Re: I think we have a biter... need suggestions.

• RachelJohnson

  July 2010

  I'm in the same boat. It really threw me for a loop with Abby being so young, and like Kennedy, is not around many kids. I'm not sure why she started doing it, but she does it when she gets mad.

  Abby cries if you look at her wrong...so a stern voice is what has worked the best for us. From what I've found on the online, at their age the best thing to do is to tell them no and to distract them with something else.

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• lilcrablegs

  July 2010

  We are in this situation too!  GK, like your LOs, did not learn this from other kids.  I have been doing the same thing as Rachel - just saying "no" in a very stern voice and then distracting him.  I hope, like most other things, that it's just a phase.

  

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• sdkrlm

  July 2010

  Biting is a behavior done mostly out of frustration or seeking attention - it's not necessarily a learned behavior.  Toddlers can't communicate so they will often act out to try to communicate their needs/wants/frustrations/emotions.

  We went thru a hitting stage with Avery - and she will also still occassionally bite inanimate  objects when she's tired or mad about something but we have solved 90% of the issue by telling her "No hitting" and then putting her down and removing ourselves from the situation.  Usually the combination of our stern voices and us taking away our attention from her is enough to rile her up into a crying fit and hurt feelings...but... it only took ~2weeks?  of consistent disciplined to see a marked improvement.

  If biting is out of anger/aggression, some people say to bite their kids back...and while this worked for my sister when she was a biting toddler, I wouldn't recommend it.  Dr. Sears' Discipline book recommends to show the toddler that biting hurts by pressing THEIR teeth to THEIR skin - like a forearm - Although Kennedy, Abby and George might be too young to grasp that concept, - I know Avery wouldn't quite "Get" what I was trying to communicate yet.  

   Oh and I can also "SEE" when Avery is going to lash out and start hitting.  Before the behavior happens, I tell her "NO HITTING" and distract her from acting out before she actually does it.  If you're Caesar Milan fans - it's like the touch to the dog to snap them out of it before it happens.  

   

  I can't remember if it was a parenting blog, or article, or book, or what but I remember the author writing that as parents, our best tool when it comes to discipline is rationing our attention - and it made SO MUCH SENSE.  And so far, using this as a basic rule in our household has really worked wonders. 
  

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• ricejl member

  July 2010

  One thing our daycare told us was that if we are playing with LO and we are pretending to nibble on their neck or arm or wherever, they will see this as playing and they might start biting others. Of course I have no kids of my own so I can't really say much from experience but it did make sense.

  

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