My Daughter Is a Biter!!

I TOTALLY SYMPATHIZE!! I have teeth marks as we speak. My son is 13 months... and is doing much the same, especially when he is frustrated or tired. I have caught myself even flinching when he comes around, waiting for the clinch of his sharp teeth.
My advice, and it seems to have worked for the most part... I keep a close eye... when he looks like he is about to bite... I place my whole hand over his mouth (this way he cannot get a grasp on anything) and tell him no biting... I hold it there for a second or two, while he tries to get away for another bite. Soon after this, he loses interest and finds a toy.
Good luck! It is a long painful road!

This is from Nanny 911, it says the word NO should only be used for emergencies and the Nannies tell them the only things they are allowed to bite is food. They give them a baby teething ring, and that is the only thing they are allowed to bite. They do give them time outs for biting, their experience is that children usually bite out of frustration. They find that when you take the focus on biting and put it on the teething ring, it fades. It is also helpful to talk to the children about why you are frustrated or angry, even at that age. Good luck.

I'm not sure about the biting thing at all. But if you feel it is definitely out of frustrtaion because she's havig issues with communication, try teaching her sign language. You can look up stuff online or buy a book (or go to the library). Baby sign language is a great way to communicate with your child. You can teach them a few simple gestures for milk, more, sleepy, etc. that will help her communicate her wants and needs to you.

I have GREAT news!! The biting WILL stop!! Our son was a biter. Like others, we had not a clue on how to make him stop..and I think he just outgrew it. Naturally, we would talk to him about how it hurt; how it wasn't nice; gave him other things to bite on; i even told him to bite himself (which he did for a long time); as he got older, we used time out---but at the same time we did not want him to feel that he had to suppress his anger/feelings.

I think what helped the most was teaching him to use words- and showing him how to show his anger. Of course, this really did not start until he was older- but when he was younger, we could tell when he was going to bite. You know the look--as they come at you with their mouth wide open and that intent look in their eyes...we would give him something else to bite.

again, I don't know what or if any of those really worked.

J.,

I greatly applaud you for not hitting your baby. That is wonderful! Neither of my babies (2.5 year old and 5 month old) have ever been spanked either.

My son has bit a few times. He hasn't in a while but when he did I would tell him ,"Teeth are for food", or "Do you feel like chewing? Let me get you something safe to chew." The problem with saying no, is that it doesn't give an appropriate alternative. We have a saying here, "You can't do a negative!" In other words, instead of saying "don't run" we say "walk". My experience with kids of all ages has shown me that kids are much more likely to listen when requests are made in this sort of positive manner.

I can't believe I'm reading so many responses condoning biting or other punitive punishments. The thought of an adult biting a baby makes me feel sick. I've reported all those posts as offensive.

R.

well I know my hubby and Daughter were bitters...
well My mother in law said that she finally got to the point that Josh(hubby) would be breaking the skin(he had bitten a little girl and went through her eye lid). So she finally had to bite him back.. no she did not break skin or anything but after she had done that he never bite again...

I know you don't belive in hitting your child which is fine. but do remember that kids don't know that it hurts to bite someone till it is done to them. best of luck

I know it sounds a little barbaric, but I had to bite my daughters back to show them that it hurts (I did this after I had tried everthing else). I did not bite them hard, just enough to get their attention. Once I did this, the biting stopped.

You are right, biting is a way of communicating, and as she develops other ways to communicate, she will stop biting. There are two things you can do as you deal with this stage. First, since you notice that it is out of frustration, you can try to redirect before it happens. If she is getting frustrated that the blocks won't stand up, distract her before she gets angry. Yes I know that won't always work, but it could be a start. The second thing, what I learned, and what worked for me, was to say "no biting" and put the child down and walk away. Part of the biting thing is to get a reaction, if there is no reaction, then she will know it won't work. It takes time, but it works. I have also heard of parents using baby sign for communication. I haven't done this, but there are some who swear by it. All I really know is that you have to be very consistant for it to work. Whatever you decide to do, remember, this too will pass, and be happy that she is only biting you and not other kids!

hi J., i had this very problem at the same age with my daughter, so when she would do it i would show her the marks she left and in a very stern, low voice "tell her no and that hurt mommmy, thats a bad girl" after a few times she got the point because mommy doesnt talk to her like this very often only when she's done something really wrong. hope this helps W. mom of 4

I CAN SOOO RELATE, KNOW YOUR PAIN, MY SON IS 13 MONTHS OLD AND HE IS A BITER HAS BEEN FOR AWHILE, BUT HE ONLY BITES ME. HE IS A BREASTFED BABY. I WOULD TELL HIM A STERN NO AND I KNOW IT NEVER SEEMS TO WORK, SO I STARTED TAPPING HIM ON THE MOUTH LIGHTLY NOT REAL HARD JUST ENOUGH TO LET HIM KNOW HE IS HURTING AND DONT BITE MOMMY THAT HURTS, SOMETIMES HE MAKES THE MOTION WITH HIS HAND UP TO HIS MOUTH THAT IT HURT BUT GUESS HE NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT PAIN IS, I KNOW SOUNDS MEAN BUT HE WILL EVENTUALLY GET IT, ONE CAN ONLY HOPE. I KNOW WHEN YOU TELL A CHILD NOT TO BITE AND YOU THINK BITING THEM WILL TEACH THEM A LESSON TO LET THEM KNOW IT HURTS, I TRIED THAT HE JUST LAUGHED AT ME, BUT THEN AGAIN ITS NOT SETTING A GOOD EXAMPLE YOU TELL HIM NO DONT BITE THEN YOU BITE HIM TO TEACH HIM A LESSON BUT ITS NOT REALLY TEACHING THEM A LESSON. ITS GIVING THEM MIXED THOUGTS ON BITING, IF YOU CAN DO I CAN TO.

HOPE THAT HELPS

G.