Re-post: My 14 month old bites...?

I worked in childcare for over 10 years, adn I can tell you there are 2 main reasons small children bite. The first is that they are teething and put absolutely everything in their mouth. Even though they aren't babies anymore, this is still often a reason.

Another reason is that they are frustrated and don't have the words or other methods to communicate their emotions. (this is most common between children aged 15 months - 3 years old)

If this is the case, I have some suggestions for you to try. First, if you are paying attention you can usually tell when your child is going to bite. (they usually go towards an object or person with their mouth open.) Stop them at this point, and say "no biting". Don't allow them to follow through with the bite. Then address the issue at hand. Did another child take their toy away?, are they angry because they don't want their diaper changed? Ask them simple questions to get yes or no answers. Eg - did Sally just take your truck? Then when you get an answer, tell them not to bite, and give them the words to say. Don't bite Sally, tell her "My truck". Make your child say those words to back to you or to the other child as appropriate. Over time this will help your child develop skills to cope with their stresses in ways besides biting.

If It seems that he just likes to bite and may be teething, or a sensory issue. Provide him with something he is allowed to bite. like a cold teething ring, or cold face cloth. Then when he bites you switch out the items. - Eg no biting mommy, here bite this cloth. You'd be surprised how well that works - especially for teething. (incidently the cold items will be more appealing to the child if it is teething related.)

Also, to reduce the damage when the child does bite a person, gently apply pressure to the back of their head so you are pushing them into the bite, then gently raise their face upwards. when they are looking up it naturally stops the biting action, so when they release, you let go of the back of the head and the person who's bit can move themselves away. This way they are less likely to be hurt from a full on bite.

I hope that helps.

PS, I don't think that spanking is helpful at all. And if you choose to bite him, you are just sending mixed messages - how can it be not ok to bite if mommy does it?

When I was that age, I would chase my sister around and bite her all the time. Now I just bite my nails and that's it. I turned out ok. But, I do have a 14 month old right now as he is a biter. I have two other kids who are afraid of him, so when he bites, I get face to face with him and tell him "no biting. Ouch" then I put him in his bouncy toy (like a walker, only it bounces) and I give him a toy or his bottle to chew. This is the routine I do and he is getting better after a couple of weeks. He still bites, but he is learning. My Dr. said it's because he is teething, and since he can't help that, I never use any physical punishment. If your little one gets the idea that every time he bites, he will be put in a more restricted place and have limited toys to play with, he will start to understand and respond when you use the phrase "no biting" before he actually bites. Whatever you do, just keep it consistent. I hope I could help. Good luck.

You have to be consist and patient. Toddlers are forgetful.

In your other question someone suggested having other things for him to bite on. That is a good idea because teething is a normal urge that should be satisfied at this age.

The advice to bite back, even if softly, is wrong. The just teaches him to bite. He is just doing what mommy does.

Hitting trains hitters.

A firm "no bite" gives the message. If he is on your lap, sitting him on the floor or moving away briefly reinforces the message.

A common problem may be a mixed message. Toddlers are so cute that mommy is giggling and smiling when she says "No". That smiles means "Yes Yes".

My son isnt biting, but he is hitting pretty hard. The parenting classes i went to suggested time outs no matter what age. What i learned to do is he has his own little seat in a corner, where he can see everybody else playing and having fun and it makes him mad that he cant play. So when i see him hit, i take him by the hand and lead him to his chair. He has to sit in it, i stand (not sit) next to him while he pouts and cries. When he is either calm, or after about two or three minutes (you shouldnt make it much longer as he will forget the reason why) and then after that i tell him about what he did wrong, even though he might not fully comprehend. It did take a while though and a toooon of repatition. It is slowly dwindling though and it is working. Bc he is finding out when he hits, he gets taken away from the situation and doesnt get to play anymore. So only if he is nice. But again, it did take a bit for him to really undeerstand. I would let him get up, and he would hit right away. But it really is working.

I think if it were me I wouldn't give it a huge reaction (positive or negative) and try to ignore it. However, I've always heard that it can be effective to simply put your child down when they do things like that...whether it's biting or hitting. Babies don't really "get" that it's painful, per say, but if they are being held or played with and they are put down or ignored when those actions happen (rather than making a big fuss about it that lets them know that they got your attention), they're more likely to realize that it's not something that gets them what they want.

Well I don't have any kids either but i have experience with children. So what you would wanna do is to give him something other than ppl obviously to bite. He/she is just trying their new teeth out so give them something to chew on, like a mouth guard or something of that sort, like something they could chew and get tired of. Once he/she is tired and he/she's jaw muscle are soar/tired than they will stop biting. Make sure you give him/her something that won't break easily, your goal is to tire him/her out make him/her sick of biting, than your problem will be solved.

i agree with reiki's answer. that's what my sister did with her kids and it worked like a charm. .