My son Bites?

Question

My son has been biting for a year and a half. He's been kicked out of 2 daycares and now I am afraid to go places because he bites other kids. Sometimes I cry after he does to a kid.

I've bitten him back a few times - only made it worse
I've screamed at the top of my lungs
I've put him in time out
I've put soap in his mouth and he threw up once from it
I've tried EVERYTHING!

Oh yea, he bites himself too when no one is there to bite

the thing is about taking him to a psychologist is that no place will take him until he is 5, because biting is not so abnormal at the age of 2.

Answer 1

Biting is a common behavior in most toddlers and increases when a child is tired or frustrated. You should never bite back or overreact when it happens. Toddlers like the reaction. You have to teach your child that it is unacceptable behavior. You could give them these steps:
Some steps to take when your child bites include:

Immediately look him in the eye and give him a loud and firm 'NO.' You may also move him to another area for a time out. Let him know that it is never all right to bite another person because it hurts.
Supervise your child closely when he is with other children, so that you can distract him or interrupt any behavior that may lead to biting.
It is important to not overreact and never bite your child back. Biting him back or using physical punishment will just reinforce that it is okay to hurt others.
Give him lots of praise when he controls himself and doesn't bite.
Biting back will only fuel his anger and cause aggression. Ignore all these dumb people that recommend to bite back. They obviously aren't educated on child development.
I studied this in school:
Children's hands are tools for exploring, an extension of the child's natural curiosity. Biting them back sends a powerful negative message. Sensitive parents that were interviewed all agree that the hands should be off-limits for physical punishment. Research supports this idea. Psychologists studied a group of sixteen fourteen-month-olds playing with their mothers. When one group of toddlers tried to bite another child. They received a bite on the hand; the other group of toddlers did not receive this form of physical punishment. In follow-up studies of these children seven months later, the punished babies were found to be less skilled at exploring their environment. Better to separate the child from the object or supervise his exploration and leave little hands unhurt. I retrieved this off of the child abuse site: Child abuse is physical -- shaking, hitting, beating, burning, or biting a child.

Answer 2

All of the things you say you've tried sound quite violent, so I'm not surprised they didn't solve the problem. The first thing for you to do is find another way to deal with your own behaviors--you need to be able to calm yourself down and accept this problem without resorting to something like making your son throw up.
You could have him checked by a dentist for any possible source of oral pain, or you could offer him a pacifier, teething toy, or a steady supply of carrot sticks.
Odds are good that in addition to an oral fixation, he's figured out that this receives an astonishingly dramatic reaction from adults as well as other children. So cut it out.

Answer 3

I know my 3 year old son had a huge biting problem when he was 2, I know you had said you have biten him back, it takes more than just a few times to do so, It took me months of biting my son back and everyone he bite to bite back, to break him, now, he don't think twice on biting, I don't think spanking is the option, and also, when he goes to bite, you tell him, " It's not nice to bite, That hurts mommy" "would you like for me to bite you back" sometimes it works, sometimes it don't, I am not a perfesional mother her, but, who is? I have 3 kids of my own and I am still learning............ I wish the best of luck with your son.

Answer 4

DO NOT bite him back! What in the heck would that teach him? That it's OK to do it if you're bigger than the other person?

Watch over him and see if there are certain situations where he tends to bite. Intervene BEFORE it can happen and model positive behavior for him. "You didn't like it when John took the car! Use your words to tell him!" or "I can see that made you mad" or "You look frustrated." Give him the WORDS to express himself. (That's why most kids bite.....lack of ability to express themselves!)

If he DOES bite, tell him "NO BITING!" firmly and then give ALL your attention to the person who was injured.

Another thing you can do is to take HIS arm and press it agains HIS teeth. Tell him that they are sharp and they hurt. Let him feel it himself. This is much better than you breaking his trust by biting him yourself! And he'll make the connection that HIS teeth are sharp!

Answer 5

OK, time to go see a child psychologist. If he was just biting other people, I would say it was because he wanted the attention, or just didn't have the verbal capacity to express himself appropriately, but the fact that he's biting himself makes me really stand up a take notice. It sounds like some kind of nervous disorder or anxiety thing. Definitely get him checked out by a professional because biting himself is outside the ordinary.

Answer 6

my daughter was a biter too.. until a kid bit her. she quit biting after that. It sounds bad but until it happens to him, he doesnt know how much it hurts. the only other suggestion is sit right next to him when he is playing with another child and if he is starting to bite, smack him in the mouth a little and tell him NO, you dont bite. Maybe after a few times he will learn. Good luck

Answer 7

i'm surprised ! the comparable people who say to chew back your baby are the comparable ones who say to no longer spank dont chew your baby back. there's a reason he's biting and for a 2 twelve months previous is may be communique themes. of direction in view which you didnt say no count if he grow to be indignant while he did this or no longer yet nevertheless for every physique else examining this, right it is something to think of approximately: if he isnt disillusioned or frustrtated then he would have a mouthing sensory element happening wherein case a 'chewie' is a great theory (as a count of certainty between the youngsters in my class this twelve months retains one or she will have the capacity to chew all human beings in sight) instruct him some common sign language for while he gets so pissed off that the words are in simple terms no longer popping out and instruct him to apply his words while telling you what he desires you to comprehend. additionally remember that it is the age while they think of that each and everything is thiers even while they positioned it down and circulate away it (as a result the properly-properly-known toddler shirt which you will have seen in shops) its fairly genuine!! in simple terms attempt to maintain as close as any eye on him as you could and toughen the instructions of sharing and such. and stable luck!!

Answer 8

Interesting

Answer 9

DO NOT bite him back! What in the heck would that teach him? That it's OK to do it if you're bigger than the other person?

Watch over him and see if there are certain situations where he tends to bite. Intervene BEFORE it can happen and model positive behavior for him. "You didn't like it when John took the car! Use your words to tell him!" or "I can see that made you mad" or "You look frustrated." Give him the WORDS to express himself. (That's why most kids bite.....lack of ability to express themselves!)

If he DOES bite, tell him "NO BITING!" firmly and then give ALL your attention to the person who was injured.

Another thing you can do is to take HIS arm and press it agains HIS teeth. Tell him that they are sharp and they hurt. Let him feel it himself. This is much better than you breaking his trust by biting him yourself! And he'll make the connection that HIS teeth are sharp!

EDITED TO ADD:
DO NOT SPANK HIM AND DO NOT BITE HIM BACK.
If he is even biting himself, then this is DEFINATELY about him learning to communicate better. I am willing to bet that when he bites himself, it is because he is frustrated. WORK with him on teaching him how to use words to communicate! NAME his emotions for him so he knows what the name is for what he is feeling and how to express himself.

Answer 10

Bite him back. He doesn't realize what hurts others also hurts him. Bite him back so he knows how it feels and he'll stop. Good luck.


Okay, well you seem to have tried everything except the one things that always works----spanking. This is just another great example of why timeouts and things like that don't work. Spank his butt when you see him bite someone. Trust me, it works.