My sixteen month old has discovered biting. He usually does this when bored or frustrated. The only advice I've gotten is to flick him on his cheek or hit the bottom of his chin. I'm not willing to do either. I would be interested in anything short of these two options. Thanks in advance!
Try a drop of lemon juice in his mouth when he bites. I did with my daughter, she bit me once, I put lemon juice in her mouth and she never did it again. I was like you I wouldn't bite or hit her for doing it because that does not teach them anything in my opinion. I know this has worked for some other children, I got the advice from a friend who's son this worked on. It's worth a try at least. Hope it helps.
through reading different books, they say you should never bite the child back. It's like teaching them when they hit, you hit them back. I say like everything else, be consistent by telling them no and be stern about it.
Hi A.. I have a two year old and work as a Teacher in a Learning Center for preschoolers. My daughter went through the biting phase also at about 16 months. It is a phase that most kids just have to grow out off. My husband and I would just tell our daughter that biting is wrong and that it hurt her friends when she bit them. I told her teachers to sit her apart from the other kids for a couple of mins and keep saying things like that was wrong, that was not nice, and we can't do that when we are upset with one another. I also cared enough to tell others when she was with there kids. Sundays school teachers, the child care teachers, and play group parents all knew a head of time to watch her play very carefully. If you can stop it and see why she or he is biting than maybe you can prevent it in the future till he learns it is not ok to bite.
Plus people appreciated me giving then the heads up. So if it did happen they are not so surprised and angry. My daughter has been bitten before and I know it is hard to see her hurt but I just remind myself that i can not always protect her and anger at another child never helps. So if a parent is angry tell them you are working on it, ask them for advice even if you won't use it. It makes them feel like you care about your childs bad behavier and is trying very hard to correct him in a loving but firm way. Good luck hun e-mail me and let me know how it goes.
Here's the advice I got from my Parents as Teachers counselor.
When he bites another child focus ALL your attention on the victim, turn your back to "the biter" and make a big fuss about the "booboo." Do the same thing when he bites you. Put him down, turn your back, and focus all the attention on yourself and the booboo. You don't have to call him "bad" or anything, just let him see he's not getting attention for biting.
My daughter would bite me when she was excited. I tried this trick once or twice and she stopped.
when my 13 mo bites i yell, really loud (as loud as i can) it gets her attention. then i put her down or stop playing with her. I tell her that i don't want to play with someone who might hurt me. I did this also with my 4 yo. when she was about 13 mo, she bit kids in day care. Once they told me. i spent the whole evening showing her i was unhappy with her behavior and would not play. We also had a talk before i read her a book at bed. she never bit again. my 13 mo hasn't bit in a long time. it only took a few times for her to stop. We also taugh her to tell me what is wrong ( she can't say words but she can learn to tell you what she wants) hope it all works out.
I'd remove what ever he's biting and insert a lemon or lime instead. But you don't say whether it's you he's biting or just himself.
this website has a book that can help you redirect him without creating a power struggle or giving him negative attention. http://lifematters.com/step.asp
The best thing you can do is not get out of hand about it. No emotion at all, just figure out why he's doing it and avoid the things that trigger it.
Like other mothers I would flick or lightly tap my middle boy until he got in the habit of hitting and flicking himself. Then I knew that physically responding was not a good idea.
When I worked at the daycare we had some biters.. what we did was give them a way to communicate that they where angry or frustrated. Maybe you could teach him a few words in sign language, or even something as simple as grunting or saying no. We were able to keep one of our little girls from bitting by getting her to grunt or yell loudly when she was mad. (I know it is not ideal but it kept her teeth marks off of the other children.) You could also try giving him something that is ok to bite like a stuffed animal or a teething toy..
My son is 15 months old and was biting for a while. What I eventually did was pretend to cry whenever he bit me. It would get his attention. I would also add things like "that hurt mommy and it made mommy sad." I would ask him for a hug to make me feel better and after doing this two or three times he understood that it hurt and it was wrong to bite. Telling him no and such didn't work for him but this technique did. Hope this helps.
Let your son know he's hurting you. But definitely don't bite him back, I don't understand how anyone could advocate that :(
Try "Ow! Biting hurts! Please don't bite mama" Give him something he *can* bite, a teether maybe. If his teeth are hurting try Hyland's homeopathic teething tablets. If he's angry or frustrated help him find an outlet for his emotions. 16 months is a tough age, they're learning so much but there's still a lot they can't do. I also agree with the person who suggested signing with him. We found signs to be a huge help with our daughter.
I was brought up to bite them back, not very hard, ust hard enough for them to know that it hurts. We did this with my oldest and she never bit anyone again.
i tried the biting back idea...IT WORKED
Our little girl started biting shortly after she started getting teeth, everyone kept telling me to bite her back but I could only see this reinforcing the biting continuing. My solution was to lightly tap her on the mouth while saying "no biting" and then I put her in the playpen for a time out. this was very effective on her, the biting lasted maybe a month and she stopped. If you have a playpen or a enclosed play area for your son, try putting him in that with no toys for 5 mintues at a time when he bites.
no!!! not a flick on the cheek, nor his chin. I hate someones hands in my face. I've told all the moms who ask me, to bite them back and let her know what it feels like. Not just once, but everytime she does it. It'll surprise her! Let me know
LoL, I am a mother of three and sadly there's is no resolution for the bitting.My daughter Raehailee who is 13months old and she started early at 10mths i didn't thump, hit chin, or bite back thats all negative reinforcement.she knew it was wrong because she looked at me before she did it, thats when i inforced the phrase Mommy said that's a no,no and i gave her a teething toy, i don't believe in time out just yet. I knew she was still getting new teeth so when she wanted to bite i made sure she had her teething toys around and when that didn't work, she bit me on my arm everytime i was sitting at the computer, LOL but i know as a mom its just a phase. Now she goes to daycare and guess what, she is not a biter. So just reinforce verbally what you want done. There is no resolution just offer toys or a cup with a silcone sippy top or nipple.
Its just a phase,Good Luck
Does he talk well? my son was very angry because he was developmentally delayed and this is why he was a biter. Message me and I can give you more idea's.
S.
My 16 month old baby girl is doing the same thing. I've tried to walk away or say no, but that didnt work. Someone told me to try to nicely bite her back. I no it sounds kind mean but it worked. She hasn't bitten me back.
