How do I get my toddler to stop biting people?

Question

I have a 16 month old that is constantly biting people, and he bites HARD. I've tried telling him no and raised my voice so he knows I mean business, but it doesn't stop him. He's almost drawn blood from biting me and my wife. Someone is going to get hurt and it has to stop. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? What worked for you?

Answer 1

Slap it!

Answer 2

Do not bite him back... Yes, toddlers are very "ME" oriented, and do not understand that what they do affects others, but biting back is not the answer. Biting is a very scary incident... both for the person/child who is bitten and the biter. Biting is very primal and instinctual, but is also something that can be controlled. I work in a preschool for children with special needs, and here are some techniques you can try to help lessen and eventually eliminate the biting:
- Make sure someone "shadows" your child... this means that someone is constantly following them around wherever they go. This is necessary to help determine WHEN and under WHAT circumstances your child is biting. Is someone provoking them? Are they feeling afraid? Are they cornered or being asked to do something they don't want to do? Are they hungry? Observe and write down what you see when biting incidents take place.
- Look over your notes. Do you see a pattern? Is there a specific time of day when incidents are at a peak? Is there a particular person that is constantly targeted? What can you assume from the information you have gathered?
- Try some intervention. When you see a moment/situation starting to escalate where you think biting may be a response, step in. Two kids are arguing over a toy, and you know that one has a tendency to bite. Step between them and guide them in saying things like, "It's my turn" or "I'm playing with it".
- Try alternative methods. Children who bite also may have some developmental needs they are trying to satisfy with their biting. They may still need that firm pressure. Give your child chewy foods like tiny pieces of beef jerky or licorice. Bagels and granola bars also work well. You can also get a piece of plastic tubing (the kind you can get from ACE Hardware or Home Depot for fish tanks) for your child to chew on (almost the same effect as a teething ring). At our center, we punch holes in these chewy tubes and attach an elastic key-ring holder to it (the kind you can wear on your wrist) so that the child can use it any time they need to.
Experts have found (and I have seen personally) that children who eat more chewy foods have less biting incidents because that primal need to chew has been satisfied. Good luck!

Answer 3

As a retired Pre-K teacher with a degree in Early Childhood, I want to make something perfectly clear: DO NOT BITE HIM BACK. Biting is a sign of frustration. He doesn't have the vocabulary to express what he's feeling. Biting him back when you're trying to get him to stop biting is ludicrous. If your child is still in a crib, you need to put him there for a time out: 1 minute for each year of age. Also, it's up to those around him to make sure that he is not in a position to bite. At the first sign of his frustration remove him from the situation.

Answer 4

I don't think that biting him back is teaching him anything, because he will probably think it is a game, or that it is okay for him to bite too. I would put him on a chair in a corner, and explain to him why he is there. I know some will say he is too young to understand, but if you start young, there will be less problems in the future. And when you put him in "time-out" a few hundred times, then maybe he will get that if he acts bad(i.e. biting), that he will get in trouble. Good luck!!!! I have never had that problem. Except for other kids biting them and the parents doing nothing about it.

Answer 5

My 3 year old brother has the same problem. He bites so hard that he has biten through the wood on his bed. My mother sends him to the naughty corner and doesnt give him the next meal(breakfast,lunch,snacks,or dinner) She figures he has already had a meal if he bites some one. Its working great, hes not biting as much anymore.GOOD LUCK!!!

Answer 6

ok yeah this is a hard age, you just have to keep telling him no in a firm voice,not yelling but firm. Also he might be alittle young but you can try a time out chair. I am a firmly belieave in the time out chair. When he/she bites you put him/her down after saying no in a firm voice, This will show the child that they get no attention when biting.

Hope this helped some, i have been their with my son.

Jenn

Answer 7

Well when i was a kid i would also bite everyone i saw, my poor cousin who is the same age as me has scars all over from me biting him all the time, one day my mom got so mad that she put one small drop of tobasco on my tongue. That sure made me stop biting people

Answer 8

My now 4 year old had the same problem at about that age. He didn't do it to me or my husband to often but he really bit one kid at the baby sitter's house frequently. Spanking didn't work, time out didn't work. Someone suggested soap in his mouth or Tabasco would do the trick but I was afraid to do that. The only solution we found and it was the baby sitter's idea was to bit him back. It sounds harsh but seems to be the common response when anyone ask this question.

Answer 9

I bit my son back after he made another kid bleed in Daycare. I bit him and told him " See!! That hurts!!! You dont bite people!!" He never bit again! Also- when i was in pre-school, I was literally banned form returning to ANY Kinder Care in the state of Texas! (for biting) They dont take this problem lightly--so u must get it under control.

Answer 10

I used to work in a daycare where we had a biter, what worked for him was we bought a bottle of that spray stuff that is really sour and whenever he would go to bite someone just squirt a little in his mouth, that was enough to get his attention then we would just say "DONT BITE", after about three days of that he stopped biting. good luck.

Answer 11

it's time which you attempt the naughty corner thought. it is while he hits you, you're taking him to a delegated spot interior the abode. Then clarify to him what he did and tell him that he will stay there for 2 minutes. in accordance to his age. One minute consistent with. twelve months. Then walk away. If he gets up placed him suitable back on there without chatting with him. After he continues to be there. Then pass back over to him and clarify what he did lower back. confirm you get a hug or kiss. Then enable him get up. This works o.k. as long as you reside centred and don't supply up. sturdy success!!