Our 20 month old boy bit my wife hard enough on the neck to leave a serious mark yesterday.
Then today, he bit our other 6-year old son on the stomach.
His behavior has changed dramatically the past couple days, lots of screaming, yelling, throwing fits and anger on his part.
If he was a dog, I would guess he had rabies! Any idea what this is? Or could it be the start of the "terrible twos?" Any ideas would help, thanks!
2006-10-22 10:29:55 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
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.
2006-10-22 12:12:12 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
He might be teething, or just taking his teeth for a test run. Give him a bagel to bite on. If his behavior has changed in the last few days , he might be getting some new teeth which is probably painful or annoying to him. His anger is probably a result of feeling frustrated because of constant irritation. See if a baby aspirin helps.
2006-10-22 17:42:22 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
He is at the age where he needs attention, and he will get it any way necessary, you have to punish him for the biting which is not safe but be aware that he might be needing some extra attention, try this and see what happens but don't let him get away with the biting and don't scream too much at him just let him know it's wrong and he is being punished for it.
2006-10-22 17:42:22 · answer #3 · answered by Smooth1221 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He's old enough to demand attention -- that's what he's doing -- and so you need to begin disciplining him. I think time-outs and taking favorite toys away works best. But be sure to explain why he is being punished and when the punishment is over, explain again why he was being punished, Two year olds can understand basics. If he talks at all, ask HIM why he was being punished. He will try to verbalize.
Good luck
2006-10-22 17:33:39 · answer #4 · answered by jwagnerdsm 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Something is definately wrong with him.....poor boy. Something could be hurting him, like teething. Try some infants Tylenol. Has anything changed in the family? Like is he going to a new daycare or something? He could be lashing out also r/t something in his routine that has changed. Good luck
2006-10-22 18:38:00 · answer #5 · answered by Crystal 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Terrible twos and I am going through it too. My 23 month old has been biting for months. I mean hard enough to break the skin at times. I have tried, slapping his mouth, biting him back, making him sit and NOTHING works. Good luck and if you fins something that does work let me know.
2006-10-22 17:34:02 · answer #6 · answered by mommysrock 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
our toddler went through this, but not as severe. She would bite her baby brother or one of us when she wanted attention. She would say she was hungry and then suddenly take a bite. Lucky for us she never bit anyone outside of our immediate family. We just started licking her arm and telling her that she was ice cream. She thought it was so funny. so now she pretends to lick her brother and says yum yum, ice cream.
Good luck!
2006-10-22 17:40:16 · answer #7 · answered by anna 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
at the end of the day it gets dark.
its just a phase give him a teething ring to chew on regardless of his age he may be angry and feel better in biting i know i do. give it a go then the best thing to do if that doesnt work is to give him a little bite back it may sound harsh but hey dont give what you cant recieve. he maybe a kid but teach him the error of his ways and good luck mate its worth a go promise
2006-10-22 17:40:31 · answer #8 · answered by bobba b 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
They don't call them terrible twos for nothing, that's normal, they all go through that, you can start putting him/her in the corner for the same amount of minutes that they are old.
2006-10-22 17:32:40 · answer #9 · answered by texascomet 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
People, no matter the age, do not just suddenly change with out some other influence. He may be toothing, sick, attention depried, etc.
2006-10-22 17:39:52 · answer #10 · answered by Steven C 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋