How do you stop a 2 1/2 year old from biting?

Question

it seems to happen when he gets frustrated or is told off for something else,
He`s always biting his older brother if they`re arguing over a toy or something,it doesn`t break skin but it`s enough to hurt!!
He even bit himself this morning when he got in a temper because i stopped him undoing his seatbelt in the car!
I don`t know what to do i`ve tried naughty step,telling him off firmly and even smacking him on the hand,none ot these thing seem to bother him!
any ideas????

Answer 1

Do not bite him back...what's that teaching him? That's teaching him that it's ok to bite. Same goes for smacking his hand - you're teaching it's ok to hit. The naughty step and time out do not work for most kids - they simply accept the fact that they'll have to sit for a bit but as long as they can do what they want, they don't care. My daughter (when she was about 3) actually said to me (I don't remember about what) "If I do that, then I'll just sit on the step for 3 minutes and then it will be ok." That was the end of timeouts.

You need to teach him what is acceptable to do instead of biting. When you notice him in a situation where he may bite, tell him or show him what he can do. He's frustrated and doesn't know what to do about it. So, he bites. Some kids throw things, some scream their heads off. All of this behavior is because they don't know what TO do. So, teach him what to do beforehand, try to catch him before he bites and remind him what to do, praise him when he does it, remind him later how nice it was that he did the good thing (ignore that he didn't bite - remove the behavior completely by not even talking about it). Before you know it, he will not be biting and he will be able to express his feelings in a better way. Good luck!

Answer 2

Children bite when they struggle to communicate in certain situations.

Start by taking note of what frustrates or angers him. Step in before the red mist comes down and try and talk through why he is angry and help him sort it out in a constructive way.

It may take time but this will help him to communicate his feelings better hopefully in time for him mixing with other children at pre school etc.

good luck

p.s. don't bite him as he will think this is the done thing and continue to bite.

Answer 3

I'm with biting back too. Not hard, just enough to show him that it hurts. This was my husbands idea with our first and I was of course totally mortified that he bit our son! I had to re-think the whole thing when it worked. Three kids later, we've used the same method to get the biting under control. It really works like a charm. I've also tried to teach the kids other methods to deal with anger. Talk to him in a calm voice and explain that if he's mad, he can go to his room, cross his arms,bang on a toy, use words, anything but bite. Hope that helps. Good luck :)

Answer 4

We had the comparable problem with our daughter while she substitute into approximately 2. we'd refer to her approximately biting being incorrect and that biting hurts. each time she might bite, we'd positioned her right away in day holiday. additionally, we used a e book along with her called "tooth are no longer for biting" by Elizabeth Verdick and that fairly helped using fact she enjoyed analyzing the story. carry close in there. This too shall bypass!

Answer 5

Your son already understands that biting hurts. That's why he bites in anger. It's aggression and requires immediate, world-stopping intervention.

Teach him that when he chooses to bite, he is choosing to receive a correction and be 100% reliable with that correction.

He will keep trying to get away with it for a while until he sees that you mean what you say. This is a child-raising absolute.

Answer 6

Role/Pretend play, over and over, and work on appropriate responses. Also make it fun, with like exaggerated faces, that makes it more memorable and sticks. The other thing you can do is give lots of attention to the victim, and dont give him much feedback, or if its you, kind of say Mommys sad, mommy doesnt like to play with biters.

Answer 7

When he bites, bite him back. Seriously, bite him just enough that he feels discomfort, but causing no harm. Don't be afraid to tell him no and make the biting an unpleasant experience.

Answer 8

what i did with my son, was when he tried to bite me, i would put his hand in his mouth without him realizing that its him, it took maybe 2 times for him to figure out how much it hurts.

Answer 9

Be careful but nip him back sufficiently firmly to let him feel what it is like. Explain to him that rats and nasty animals bite and you did not think he was as horrible as that.

Answer 10

Bite him back,it worked on my child, he never bit again.