My 18 month old daughter has started biting and we can't get her to stop. I have tried everything that I know to try. With my son (who is 3 now) all we had to go was bite him back a few times and it broke him. But my daughter is worse that he ever was. She catches you off guard. She will act like she wants to cuddle them she will chomp down on your shoulder or arm and not just little nibbles either, she bites hard enough to leave brusies. She drew blood on my son the other day. I am at my wit's end with this one. My son looks like a leper with all the bite marks on him. Any ideas will be greatly appreicated, SERIOUS answers only please. I prefer from parents or childcare workers. Thank you.
2006-08-16 08:49:34 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
TEETHING.. That is probably why your child is biting. I am a child care teacher and had a child who bit up to 6 times a day and here's what I did:
give her crunchy snacks throughout the day and offer her something to drink troughout the day.
teething can be very painful and chewing on things is soothing for them.give her toys that are meant to be chewed on or a wet washcloth and when she bites or attmpts to bite explain that we don't bite people but you can bite this.
sometimes kids bite when they feel cramped. like too many people or things around them. make sure she has lots of her own space.
if she biting out of aggression or anger, teach her an alternate way of releasing her anger. stomping her feet, hitting the floor or pillows, etc....and then praise her when she uses them.
In the event that your son does get bit, tend to him first. Tell your daughter that she hurt her brother and point out the bite mark. Explain that biting hurts and it's not okay to bite.
I hope this will help you. The child I had in my class eventually stopped biting. Patience and persistence is very important.
2006-08-18 02:32:33 · answer #1 · answered by twofromheaven 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Seriously... that is a problem.
But, at 18 months a child can listen to reason - and will react to conditioning.
What you seriously need to do, is figure out whether your parenting skills are what is causing this situation. This may be a cry for help.
Ask someone that knows you, that you consider to be a "role model" for parents... if they might have some suggestions as to how you could become a better parent... then, without question, implement those steps ASAP.
This is probably a result of nervous energy, or internalized hostility on your part that is manifesting itself in your child's behavior.
For the short-term, it is necessary to stop this behavior right away. The only way to do that is to reason with the child, point to a deterrant for poor behavior, and then follow through.
For biting (and my children have never bitten anyone) I would say something like the following:
"biting is not good because it hurts people" "don't bite little Johnny again please... ok ?"
You may get success right there, but if things have developed, it might take stronger stuff".
In that case you should say: "now I told you not to bite... If you bite little Johnny again, I am going to smack you up side the head so hard that you are going to see spots"... then, if they bite... follow through. Repeat as necessary.
2006-08-16 16:04:31 · answer #2 · answered by Music Fan 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Wow, a lot of post here and not one single one are actually addressing the problem, only offering punishments.
First...she's 18 months old....what do 18 month olds continue to develop? That's right...teeth. Did you ever cut your wisdom teeth? It hurts. Perhaps your son was more tolerant to pain than your daughter.
Your right to be concerned though...if she gets away with it, she'll continue and it's not fair to your son to get bit all day.
Try this...check for new or imerging teeth...treat that with a topical pain reliver or even an oral one. If you have any sewing skills at all, try sewing a pouch around a sponge (new, kitchen type), wet it and freeze. (or purchase a freezeable type teether that appeals to her) and give her newly frozen ones all day to chew on. (the material sewn around will keep her from biting off a chunk and choking).
Also, there is a book called "no biting!" barnes and nobles sells in in the childrens 'self-help' section. It's a really cute book with cute babies in it.
Third.. evaluate your reaction when she bites. Do you go stright to her and disipline? Or do you go to the victim? Go stright to your son (or take your self away from her and into the bathroom to tend to your own wounds) and cuddle him, place an ice pack on his BooBoo and kiss it. Chances are she's going to fight for the attention your lavishing upon her brother. Just back her up and tell her that she was not being nice, that she hurt her brother and she isn't allowed to be with him (and thus you) until he's feeling better. It could be that she's already figured out the negative attention thing.
I hope one of these suggestions helps but until you get it figured out try to protect your son. Even if that means gating little sister so she can't get to him. It's unfair for him to be victimized by her behavior and she she realizes that she can't play in the "play area" because she bites brother, perhaps she'll learn to think about her actions (but she is young to figure this out!)
Good luck.
2006-08-16 18:45:36 · answer #3 · answered by Amy B 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
We went through this with our now 3 year old last year when she was 2. I couldn't help but have a little giggle while reading your post because it sounds exactly like my home during 2 months last year.
When she would bite, we would first give her time out and instruct her that her time out was for biting. After the 5 minutes of time out we'd instruct her that biting is not polite, it hurts (whomever she bit), and it's not an appropriate way to communicate or express whatever it is she wanted to say. We'd then redirect her by saying if you need to bite, bite on your teething ring (which was frozen).
It didn't solve it over night, but by the end of the month that we instituted the teething ring. We didn't have the problem anymore.
Blessings To You & Yours
2006-08-16 16:12:38 · answer #4 · answered by Pastors Wife 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Its is time for the combination spank and time out. This is very serious but I had to do it with my oldest who was biting a younger sibling. Catch her in the act and a good firm smack on the diaper and time out all by herself. And make her stay in that spot the full five minutes. It worked for my son. Do it everytime even if its a little bite.
2006-08-16 15:57:18 · answer #5 · answered by murph_ltt 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
My twin brother and I used to bite each other when we were small boys and my parents used soap on us. I used this trick on my oldest son (now 5) when he was smaller he used to be a bad biter. He hated (well, still hates) taking baths and used to bite to try to avoid taking a bath. I still remember to this day what my parents did and decided their method was pretty effective. If you just scrape a small amount of a bar of soap on the back end of your child's bottom teeth she can't help but to taste it on her tongue and she'll learn very quickly that it tastes very bad and that when she bites she'll be punished with the soap. My son learned after getting the soap in his mouth 2 or 3 times and he hasn't bitten anyone since.
2006-08-16 19:11:13 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I tried everything! Biting back, spanking, talking to her, time out.
The ONLY thing that worked... HOT SAUCE! Put a little on your finger and put it in her mouth directly after she bites. It won't kill her, she might throw up, but it works. \
Mine is 4 and it even works on tantrums, all I have to do is take her down that aisle or show her the bottle AND she's as good as GOLD!
Checked with Peds first as well!
2006-08-16 17:22:33 · answer #7 · answered by vagenealogist 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
She might be ready for time out. My daughter who is 16 months goes to her playpen with no toys when she gets in trouble. My son, 3 goes to timeout. My kids really weren't biters though, so I don't really have other advice. Sorry, but good luck with that one. Remember, this too shall pass. :)
2006-08-16 16:40:02 · answer #8 · answered by the_proms 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Kids learn to bite only when bitten. and biting back does not stop it, its amazing your son stopped. what you should do is ignore it, when your daughter bites anyone let them pretend that nothing happened because most likely, your daughter is doing it because she enjoys the attention she gets or the response. show her no reaction.
Good luck
2006-08-16 17:54:23 · answer #9 · answered by WICCA 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
my son bits to and it hurts... here is what i am doing and its working but its still a new thing. If my son bits someone, he gets told "No Connor it is NOT okay to Bit _________(whoever the child bit put there name here) It hurts!" and then give her a Spank on the hand or Butt, I wouldn't spank on the mouth that's really mean.. and then he gets put in the corner for 1 minutes since he is only 19 months old. so far this has been working. good luck
2006-08-16 17:35:05 · answer #10 · answered by fandj4ever 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋