any advice on stopping my 2yr old son from biting?

Question

my son bites when he cant get his own way ,
it sounds cruel but i bite him back to try stop him doing it , it does work but i feel so guilty but its the only way he understands .

Answer 1

I used to bite when i was a toddler and my mum done as you do, she bit me back harder and i soon stopped. Apparently it was the only thing that worked.

Answer 2

This is what I told another mom who's 2 year old son was biting at daycare it will work at home too just modify.... a lot of toddlers bite only at daycare mostly because it is an attention seeking behavior. I would recommend that you talk to his teachers and be sure that they understand he is doing it to get their attention, therefore when he is doing positive things like playing by himself or nicely with others that they lavish him praise and attention and some one-one time with them. The other key to it is be PROACTIVE and encourage them to document when he bites, what was going on at the time, and how both children responded and were responded to. They need to look for patterns such as when he is playing in a certain area of the room, time of day, or particular child. When it does happen the teachers should turn all of their attention to the hurt child and virtually ignore your son. I know this may sound harsh but it will help show him that there are much better ways to get attention. I hope this helps!!

Answer 3

I think that by biting him back you're just telling him that biting is acceptable behaviour. I don't really know though as I don't have a toddler. Now a friend of mine has a little boy who went through a terrible stage of biting. She said a sharp smack across the mouth was the only thing that stopped it.

Reasoning with a 2 year old doesn't sound like it would work. Small toddlers like that aren't old enough to understand/comprehend when you try to "reason with them".

Answer 4

Do not bite him back- there is so much bacteria in a human bite- which is why an MD will never suture a wound from a human bite.
I taught preschool for a long time, and we would give frustrated biters a clean washcloth that had been frozen in water to bite on when they were in a biting mood.
The next time he bites you or another adult, immediately put him down an ignore him. Reward positive behavior, and ignore him when he bites.He wil get the hint.
In the meantime try the washcloth.

Answer 5

As cruel as it sounds, thats the only thing that works... once they feel the pain, and know they will get bit back, they do stop biting...People will tell you to talk to him, how do you talk to a 2 year old, to make him understand that biting hurts? In my time I have cured 3 little boys of biting, by biting them back... and it only took one bite...

I felt guilty also i think thats only normal, did it make me a bad mom? not at all!

gl

Answer 6

Biting back will not work. He does not associate his action with your action. You are probably confusing him.

My two year old bit when he was puched to an emotional limit, usually frustration. 2 year olds can't talk about something that sophisticated, so next time he bites, tell him no, remove him from the situation for 2 minutes as a Time Away and then explain "You were mad. It is ok to be mad but it is not ok to bite. Let's go do something different, etc..."

Also my daycare provider said that sometimes they don't bite out of emotion, but because of teething their 2 year molars and it hurts their mouth so much that they just clamp down on whatever is nearest when the pain strikes.

Good luck.

Answer 7

It is very common for toddlers to bite to show their frustration. Oddly enough biting genty is a good way to show the pain it causes, though it is often best to firmly say "no" (yeah, I know it sucks) close to the toddlers face at the time. Biting doesn't last long, and once the teething starts, they are usually too busy biting on teething rings etc to wnat to do it to people! Hope it helps

Answer 8

in the initiating...take a deep breath!! you'll live to inform the tale this loopy era I promise you. i'm a experienced early childhood educator and that is customary behaviour for 2 year olds. even as you said your son has tremendous verbal skills, he received't have the capacity to utterly exhibit his emotions that is why he's retaliating through biting. Re: biting him again. This situation is an similar as spanking. that is frustrating for children to understand why they're being hit or bitten and why that is inaccurate to attempt this stuff themselves even as mum and dad/caregivers are doing a similar component. It would not sparkling up the undertaking. I recommend that you retain doing what you're doing. On eye factor, talk compassionately even as someone has been bitten preserving, "Ouch, that damage. Biting hurts." If he bites out of frustration, help him to verbalize why he's pissed off. it is exertions yet you're on the right direction. We see this each of the time in our infant room.

Answer 9

I totally agree with Cammy. NEVER NEVER NEVER bite your child back. This tells them that if you do it, then it is ok for them to do it. I work in a day care center with infants and toddlers and when one bites another, you should say a firm "no" to the biter and comfort the one that was bit. It is usually just a phase and they do it when they are teething and when they cant communicate what they want to say. Just be consistent and it will stop eventually. Good Luck!

Answer 10

I think to ultimately solve this problem you really have to try and understand why he is doing it. My son used to do the same thing and like you I bit him back once and then felt awful. When I thought about why he was doing it, really it just came down to frustration. And like with your son, he probably can't say how he feels, especailly in a fit a rage, it's easier just to bite....
Try and discover what triggers it off, and then help him not to feel frustrated and he'll no longer need to do it.

Answer 11

well there use to be this stuff for biting nails when i was younger. It was so bitter and nasty tasting it somewhat helped. I think is was called Bitter nail, or something like that. Ask your doctor or maybe a pharamist about the product i have discribed. Im sure they would be able to help you more. Good luck and keep up the great work of being a mother and you too dad