Son is still biting!?

Question

my son is 16 months old and is still biting younger children. after complaining enough he finally got moved over to the toddler area! they wanted me to wait until he was 18 months! but my son was 10lb 3 oz 22 in AT BIRTH! so he already had a good start on most of the kids at his state ran daycare! he has been there since he was 7wks so they KNOW my son! I have done everything @ home to the point my son RARELY bites! only when he is mad or is beyond excited. At daycare he does it out of frustration and anger! I feel at times they dont challenge him educationally wise and he gets very bored! People keep on saying that he will grow out of it but he has been doing it since he was 10 months or so! maybe earlier! and the crazy part is that at times they dont even inform me!!!

ok...I haev biten him back!!!! trust me! and just recently too! he has also been bitten back! and HIT by other classmates!! so....

also his 1 yr molars are coming in!!

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. Experts and research all show that it is wrong to bite back so don't take anyones advice if they recommend to. 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.

Answer 2

Biting is perfectly normal for a child hid age. They do not yet have the verbal skills to express frustration so they express it in other ways. Some suggestions: when he bites give him something appropriate to bite instead ( food, teether, etc..) his teachers should watch and see if there are certain antecedants that cause biting (i.e. tired, hungry, specific children, fights over toys) the they should be proactive and try to redirect child when these times come. Biting back does not work! At this age all you are doing is telling child that biting is ok. Also when he bites because he is angry say something like I know you are mad. Try and get him to express this verbally. Once your child begins being able to express himself he will probably stop biting. Boredom could be one of the issues too. That is why it is important to keep a record of when and why he bites. It is only once you know this that a solution can be found. Also I know that in my state that licensed daycares need to inform the parent of these incidents. I would ask for a meeting with his teachers and the director day care to try and work out a solution. Sorry so long winded... Good Luck

Answer 3

Try getting your son some toys with rubber edges on them. Preferably ones that can be clipped to his belt. My son had a similar problem. And anyone whose been bitten by a baby knows how sharpp those tiny razors can be. Even now at 2, when he begins to bite, I pass him a rubber key or something that is acceptible for him to chew on. On his most recent home discovery trek, he discovered his old pacifiers, and decided that they worked well for him to chew on and ease the pain in his gums. He never used the pacifiers much as an infant, but I guess they make great chew toys for toddlers. They are easy to put in the fridge, and by placing them in a small basket at the bottom shelf of the fridge, he can get to them when he needs them.

Answer 4

My son is 15 months old. He used to bite his daddy and I all of the time. One reason he may have started this is because he's teething. Biting on something releases the pain, like a teething ring does. This might sound harsh, but it worked. When my son would bite me, I'd bite him back. I didn't bite him hard enough to hurt him or leave a mark, just enough so that he would feel it. And then i would tell him."You don't bite!!!" He would cry about it and then get over it. It took a while for him to stop biting, but it worked. And now when I think he is about to attempt to bite me, I sternly tell him not to bite me. I hope this helps you out.

Answer 5

NO! Don't bite him back, oh my gosh! This is just his form of communication right now. He won't understand why you are biting him. Don't bite him again, seriously. You can try timeouts but the only real thing you can do here is tell him "No." This is a stage, just wait it out. It'll be over soon.

Answer 6

i have to agree with the answers to bite him and see how he likes it.. your child has not really experienced consequences for biting in the past that has been effective in teaching him it is wrong. so, next time that he bites at home bite him back hard enough to cause a little pain but not enough to seriously injure him. then ask him, did you like that?? do you think that the people you bite like it?? be sure to include the keeping our hands and feet and teeth to ourselves speech and the do to others as you want done to you as well. keep trying and he will get the message.

Answer 7

Sounds like my daughter except she picks on anyone even if they are bigger then her. She only does it when she is relly excited though, she has been weaning out of it herself, she used to do it for no reason now its just excitement, but after we tell her no once she will stop, for that day only of course. She is now 19 mo and little by little she hasn't done it as often.

Answer 8

The best way to do it is simply bite him back. It sounds mean but with both of my nephews that's how we solved it. My one nephew bit me I bit him back and he never bit again because he then knew how much it hurt. A developing child will associate the act of biting with pain, so then he will not bite another person. It's like the first time they touch a hot stove and get burned... same theory.

Answer 9

Sweetie, my 5 year-old still bites at times...mainly her sisters....she is adhd though.....just watch him and complain that they need to challenge him. Maybe search for another daycare facility.

Answer 10

His behavior no matter how bored is unacceptable and will only get worse if not taken care of now. I know people think it is cruel but I tell you if you bite him back he will stop. Not hard enough to break skin or bruise but enough to get his attention.