How do you teach a 16 month old not to bite?

Question

My friend's daughter is constantly biting in daycare. My children have never bitten so I dont know what to tell her to do.

Answer 1

I have a day care in my home and for biting or any other aggressive behavior, I remove the child from the situation immediately. I use a firm voice to tell them no biting, then I take them to the nap room, put them in their empty bed and leave the room. I go back to get them after 5 minutes for older toddlers or until the temper tantrum that usually ensues is over for younger toddlers. I tell the parents ahead of time how I deal with aggression so they know well in advance of any behavior issues actually occurring, then I of course tell them when and if the behavior starts. I've only had 2 biters in the last 2 years and about 2 days of consistent trips to the nap room worked for both of the kids. Children have to learn what is acceptable and what is not, even at 16 months of age. (The last little biter I had was barely a year old) They need to know that certain things will not be tolerated and we as parents and teachers have to show them what we expect of them. Kids may be small, but they are capable of so much more than most adults give them credit for.

Basically your friend needs to take this seriously, which I'm sure she is. Then she nees to find out how seriously the day care is treating this. If they don't feel it's a big issue, I would have concerns about the facility, they obviously are not thinking of the safety of ALL the children in their care.

Answer 2

Sometimes it takes another child to stop this behavior. When my sister was small a neighbor girl used to bite her. Finally one day my sister hauled off and smacked her a good one and the little girl stopped biting anyone. I think the daycare should try to minimumize the contact this little girl comes into with other children for the time being. A human bite can be very dangerous if it breaks the skin or causes bleeding, because of the bacteria in the human mouth. I had to take my daughter to the ER because she was bitten in day care and it broke the skin. Your friend's daughter may be teething, if so your friend needs to get medications for such as well as things she can bite on other than other children. The only thing you can tell your friend is to take her child to the doctor. If it's not teething then it is something else and if it keeps up your friend could find her daughter without a day care to go to.

Answer 3

Biting is not as uncommon as one might think. The majority of toddlers engage in some biting between their first and third birthdays.

"Young children bite for a number of reasons. Probably the most common reason is that it is one of the few ways of communicating that's effective for them, before verbal skills are developed. Another reason toddlers bite is to express frustration, a feeling which is very common with toddlers, because both their communication skills and their motor skills are so limited.

The one thing you should never do, although it's a common mistake that parents make, is to bite back, so that the child knows what it feels like, All that does is reinforce the habit.

if your child bites another child, you should first give the attention to the child who has been bitten. This will make it clear that biting is not a good way to get attention. parents should take time to explain that no, we don't bite, we use words to express our feelings. "If your child couldn't figure out what words to use, you might suggest some for the future."

Experts agree that parents should try not to give biting so much attention that it becomes an attention-getter. This is true of all behavior that you don't want to see repeated. For example, it is not a good idea to laugh, because the child sees that she is getting a response, and she will do it again. A negative or a positive reaction is still a reaction. "You want to say firmly, matter-of-factly, 'No biting,' or 'We don't bite,' and then move on to something else, And if you think the child might be hungry, suggest biting on some apple slices!"

Answer 4

I am not sure how much this will help you , but a ped. once said to use vinegar. Putting it in their mouth with a q-tip after they bite. DO NOT BITE THE CHILD BACK. this falls in the same catagory as if a child hits, you hit(spank). Give it some thought. You just done to them what they did, how would this teach them it is wrong? yes of course they see that it hurts, the can also see it as the person they look up to is hurting them. Use you words! Hope this helps! Have a great day!

Answer 5

I have 4 kids at home (6 total). Both biting back softly until they feel the discomfort and lightly smacking their mouths work. You can try to sit a 16 month old in time out for this, but unless it is very strickly enforced, it will likely not work (If it does it will take some time).

Answer 6

Use a firm NO! Then distract her to something else. NEVER, NEVER bite back, it reinforces the biting....Mom does it too! Be consistant, and in time it will stop.

Answer 7

bite back(not hard)but they will learn it hurts and stop

Answer 8

bite them back

Answer 9

Tap her in the mouth when she does it, lightly and tell her no. or bite her back.

Answer 10

Put a muzzle on her