Help please! My son is a little terror.?

Question

My son is 22 months old and was going through a biting stage. We managed to stop this by putting him down and ignoring the situation, then asking for an apology ( a kiss ) This worked, but now he has moved onto nipping and grabbing any bits of your body he can grab. I and my Husband are covered in bruises and have tried the same method we used with the biting but it is not working.
He really had it in for me today he was just walking past and would nip me for no reason. Then he bit me twice and every chance he got he went for me. I was left in tears as I don't know what to do anymore. He has never seen violence and has been shown nothing but love so I am now worrying that he is showing signs or ADHD or something similar. Please do not tell me to hit, nip or bite him back as I will not do this, that is in affect telling him that it is ok to do.
PLEASE HELP!!!

Answer 1

you're right about not hitting back, this won't teach him anything! Instead of saying what he CAN'T do, you can show him what he CAN do. I used to take my son's hand and put it on my face repeating "gentle". He stopped hitting very quickly!
hope this helps a little.
Whatever I do, I always treat my child as I want to be treated myself. Children are people too, even if they are little.

Answer 2

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 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.

Answer 3

If you don't want to bite/pinch him back then you're going to have to shame him into submission.

Before everyone gets all worked up about the verbiage hear me out.

He thinks its great fun, you don't want him to do it. The only chance you have without physical intervention is to learn how to make him feel bad about it so he'll stop.

Start bawling when he pinches or bites you. Put your head in your hands and cry when he hurts you so he realizes what he's doing.

Telling a a 2 year that something hurts and he shouldn't do it sometimes doesn't register. But if you react to his actions like he would react if the same was done to him can make the connection.

Answer 4

He's doing it for attention. Next time he does it get very close to his face with a stern look and tell him we do not do that. Put him in time out, meaning a chair in the same room you are in, for 3 mins with no toys, tv, or interaction of any sort.

Next time you see him behaving as he should, playing nicely, or just sitting next to you watching tv, touch him and just tell him what a good boy he is and that you're proud of his good behavior. It really encourages good behavior and it helps his self esteem.

Biting, nipping, and grabbing are not signs of ADHD. I have a son with ADHD, and he never went through that phase. ADHD is NOT bad behavior, it is the inabilty to concentrate and be calm.

And in response to Jules answer, biting or pinching him back is NEVER the right thing to do. Children learn by example, not do as I say not as I do. You can be reported to Social Services for that!!!!!

You'll get through it. Just be firm about what you expect out of him and what you don't, give him lots of praise on his good behavior, and lots of attention!!!

Good luck!!!!!!

Answer 5

I know how frustrating this is. We just went though this phase. My son like to bite while breastfeeding (although he did it at times while we were playing), which caused to me react VERY quickly for obvious reasons. I found that saying "no" and walking away did the trick very quickly. When he learned that biting put an end to whatever activity he was enjoying, he learned that biting wasn't a smart move for him.

Answer 6

When he does this, tell him "No! We don't bite, it's not nice." Maybe you should take away things from him if he continues, like tv, or a toy. He'll either quit biting or have no toys. It's his choice. If he does a few things good though like pick up his crayons, help you at the grocery store, go a day without biting anybody, then give him a toy back.

Answer 7

Well since you won't give his own treatment back to him. You are going to have to take the next step. Tell him we don't bite,pinch etc and each time he does take him and put him in his room. Take all his toys out etc so he doesn't play with them. Don't be afraid of your child YOU shouldn't have to cry cause your son does this to you. what are u teaching him?? He needs to be displine in a way that its going to get his attention!!!!

Answer 8

Well, you can think what you want but I had the same problem with my daughter. I did bite her back but not hard enough to hurt her. Just hard enough to warn her. My daughter is a happy 3 1/2 year old who hasn't bit anyone in ages. Our bruises have healed. Have yours?

Answer 9

well done, i wonder how many people would have told you to do just that. have you tried a punishment stair or taking his favourite toy away until he apologises. i can see that you are a great and understanding mom, keep doing what you are doing and you will find a way to communicate with your son to stop his behaviour, i hope everything works out for you

Answer 10

IT IS EASY JUST PUT YOUR FOOT DOWN. WHEN HE BITES TELL HIM NO, BUT NOT IN AN ANGRY TONE.ONCE HE DOES THAT AGAIN PUT HIM IN TIME OUT IF HE TRIES TO GET OUT PUT HIM BACK IN.IF THIS DOES NOT WORK START SHOWING HIM THAT YOU WILL START TAKING TOYS FROM HIM.

I WISH YOU GOOD LUCK!