Bitting - San Francisco,CA

My son did that. I solved it by filling up an eyedropper with white vinegar and putting it in his mouth everytime he bit so he would associate biting with a really bad taste. Worked like a charm within one day.

I asked this same question recently. I have twins, boy & girl, and my little girl was biting about the same age. They are 14 months now and she stopped. It definitely seemed to correspond with teething mostly and fatigue. I told her, "No" firmly and she cried the first few times. Then when she tried it again at around 12 months- ish, since she knew how to kiss I said, "No biting, kissing is okay, but no biting." I'd encourage a kiss and usually get that big open mouth coming toward me with a smile. The biting quickly stopped again and I haven't seen it since. I was also very watchful, sometimes stopping her prior to the chomp with a firm, "No."

I took my twins to the park yesterday and it was so nice to see how they played with the other one year olds. They really do learn to share and be gentle. So don't lose heart. At nine months I worried about that, but not now.

I have to agree with Nicole. I can't even believe I am writing this, but my son did the same thing. I was miss progressive mom and biting him back sounded horrible! But I didn't know what to do, so one day I bit him back.......of course not very hard. I doubt I hurt him, but he was so surprised he cried. It cured him too!

Oh goodness! I hated this stage. YES IT HURTS!!!!

I think it has something to do with teething.....but it hurts.

I tried everything before....firmly saying "don't bite", and trying to be quick enough to prevent him from biting, but it wasn't always possible. At 9mos, it's difficult to give them "timeout" It's almost like you just have to keep tying everything :o)

Because your twins are so young, I'm not sure biting back would work yet. I think for now you need to use the word NO very firmly, maybe even with a finger in their face to show authority. 9mos is hard, because they are still babies, yet they begin to understand the difference in your emotions.

After 7 mos of getting bit by my son..........I did something I said I would never do........I bit back! It was just hard enough to hurt him......he was almost 2....he cried (NOT from the bite, but from having his feelings hurt), and I hugged him immediately and said "please dont bite me anymore...it hurts mommy".........he never bit again!

For now, you are in the early stages of biting, probably due to teething. Treat him for teething, and hopefully the biting will minimize.

P.S....do vampires run in your family? :o)

~N. :O)

I had this problem with my daughter. She would bite her younger brother really hard. It was really upsetting. We tried making her bite herself and even hot sauce. That was all very traumatizing for everybody and didn't work anyway. I finally talked to the nurse at our pediatrician's office and she suggested that we reward good behavior or non-biting behavior. We would give her praise for going so long without biting. When it is really bad and they're biting alot, you need to break it down into very small increments of time, like 15 minutes. Additionally, you need to really monitor the situation and stay close by, maybe hover more than usual. Also just talking to the child about appropriate ways to express frustration helped us. You may find too, as was the case for us, that it may stop for a while and then come back. We had a re-lapse of this behavior after about a year, but I dealt with it the same way and that worked again. Good luck to you.

P.,
You should do what you feel is right, but do it now because the bigger kids get, the harder they bite and they CAN do damage. There were plenty of children I wouldn't let my little kids anywhere near because even at 3 years old, if they didn't get their way or someone had a toy they wanted, they acted like little cannibals and bit and hurt other children, including mine. I could only stomach hearing, "We just don't know what to do" so many times before removing ourselves from the situation.
A lot of people are against biting back and I totally understand that. However, "If your child pees on you, are you going to pee on them?" Come on.
The thing about biting is that it hurts absolutely no one but the person being bitten. You notice that kids who bite never bite themselves out of frustration, or crankiness, or inability to express themselves. They bite other people. Fun for them!
My little sister was a biter. I was her favorite target. I endured her leaving marks and bruises on me while my mom poo-poo'd it and told her, "Biting is mean!" One day, she got a hold of me and took a chunk out of my arm. My mom bit my sister.
Call it mean, but my sister never bit anyone again.
"Biting's mean! Biting hurts! Biting isn't nice!"
None of it sank in until someone bit her for a change.
And change was due. My mom couldn't keep letting her do that to me and nothing else had worked. And it took only one time.
I'm not advocating the biting of children but I do think that if biting continues to escalate it's partially because they don't associate biting with hurting. Because it doesn't hurt them.
Biting is just one of those things as a parent you have to put a stop to, however you plan to manage it.
If it's teething related, give him plenty of other things to bite on. If he bites someone, off to his crib. Let him cry if he wants. Sitting in a crib doesn't hurt as much as being bitten so you're not harming him by letting him cry. Then offer him something else to bite on. Be consistent. Every single time.
You can call it an old wive's tale, but if it gets to the point where you have to bite back, you'll know it. Thankfully it sounds like he hasn't taken to biting his brother so definitely stop it before that starts.
The sibling of a biter has two choices:
1) Do nothing but quit crying because we're supposed to be ignoring it
2) Bite back.

I hope you find what works and you can be done with the biting phase.

Best wishes.

I agree that biting back is not a solution. So if a child hits you you hit them back? Come on. My first son never bit but my second son did all the time at 7 months. Plus he was already walking at this age so he would tackle his big brother and take a chunk out of him, thinkign it was funny. Its a cause and affect to them. The dr said It is all do to teething, attention and/or being tired. He told me to remove him and put him in his crib or playyard and at his eye level tell him, No bitting that is a bad boy. Let him sit in there for a min. I also put teething gel and gave him teething tables during this time. It took a few times but after a couple of days he stopped. He understand no bititng. His big brother will tell him too when he gets his mouth close to his skin, No bitting Logan. Many times a child is also tired and acting out. I have watched the boys play to see what triggers the biting and many times my younger son is wanting a toy that his big brother has and won't give him. Its also their only way to communicate. The Joys of parenthood.

Good luck. I can't imaging twins. You have your hands full.

SAHM, 41 with 2 amazing, funny little boys. 4yrs and 19 months. They move at the speed of light and truly take my breath away.

what worked best for us was to immediately put him down and walk away. usually he bit because of teething. he quickly figured out that hey, i liked being up on this nice lap getting attention and now i'm on the floor. that's not what i want.

La Leche league recommends snapping the infant on the nose with your middle finger. It is meant to startle the infant and not to injure, you also need to use a firm voice and state 'NO'. Best wishes.

Thank you so much for NOT biting him back. I know women who were stupid enough to try that and have never been able to live down that guilt! You just have to be proactive. Know when he has his face near your skin and catch his head before he can chomp down. Have a bunch of appropriate things he can bite on because he is more than likely doing it because he is teething, and does it to you because he associates you with giving him comfort. And as long as you can see his reflection in a mirror, you're in the clear with the vampire thing.