my daughter has started to bite me at 17 months

Debra - posted on 09/27/2010

my 17 month old daughter only seems to bite or pinch - when she is in pain herself - i am assuming because of teething (either gums or ears) i try a bit of teething gel or panadol that seems to fix it and stops her from hurting others!

Mahongo - posted on 09/26/2010

i have the same problem that now my family calls him "vampiro". i have tried the time out, the smacking but nothing seems to work.

Delveen - posted on 09/26/2010

My youngest is also 17 months and does the exact same thing. I tell her to go and sit on the thinking mat and she knows where it is and exactly what it is i want her to do. I only leave her there for a minute and let her know that biting and pinching is not not and not exceptable. Bit much for a 17month old but the earlier u try to teach them the better. I klnow it has helped me a little bit, even if she is in trouble for pinching or biting and for something else when i say no now she just goes straight to the thinking mat.

Lynn - posted on 09/25/2010

I bit my older brother when I was approx 18 months old, my mum bit me back to the point she drew blood apparently, but it stopped me from ever biting anyone else. I can't even begin to consider biting my son,but I guess for some people it is a last resort.

Shannon - posted on 09/24/2010

this method is very controversial and luckily i've never had to do it but i've been told by other mothers when they were at there wits end they actually bit the child back...sometimes this is the only way the child realises that it hurts. should only be a last resort but i have heard it works

Brittany - posted on 09/24/2010

OH, to add..... he does the pinching thing too. i try the same method. sometimes it works, maybe try it with that as well. i don't think they bite or pinch out of aggression of course (although possibly sometimes, but not generally - more out of boredom). i find that my son pinches mostly when he's tired, like when he's going down for a nap and i lay with him. it's so weird! i guess they like to have something to grab onto. first it was my boobs, haha.. lately it has been my throat and face. so weird. but, like i said i think that's a comfort thing

Brittany - posted on 09/24/2010

my son does the same exact thing. it's just a phase they're going through. i have been told different things from different people. some will tell you to sit your child in time out, etc. others will tell you not to make a big deal about it, believing they do it simply to get a reaction from you. i have had no luck with either one of these strategies to be quite honest! so my best advice, ride it out. try to stay patient, as frustrating as it can be. believe me i know! a few weeks ago, my son bit me near my collarbone (unexpectedly) and left teeth marks, they were there for three days. big OUCH! i have tried everything.. a firm "no", a calm nice "please don't do that, mommy doesn't like it when you bite" etc. i've tried time outs. i've tried a light pop on the mouth. i've tried ignoring it. everything! i have found that with my son, if i catch him before he does it (ie comes at me w/ an open mouth) and interrupt it with "kisses, please" or "mommy only likes kisses", he will stop, close his mouth and give me a kiss instead. but i don't always catch him in the act, so he still catches me off guard sometimes. and my son loves to give kisses (he actually gives REAL kisses, so cute!), so i'm not sure if your little one does the same or knows that word, etc. but maybe try it! i will say this, it has gotten better over the past few weeks (ever since the bitemark incident), so i'm sure they will grow out of it sooner or later -- hopefully sooner! lol good luck :)

Heather - posted on 09/24/2010

I have a 17 month old as well who was doing that a few months ago. I was surprised because my older daughter was never a biter. I didn't feel she was old enough for a time out, so I just told her in a stern voice "no" and then would set her down. She would get very upset and kind of hit at me. Every time she would bite, I just continued to tell her no and set her down, and she stopped biting after a month or so. Hope that helps!

Deborah - posted on 09/24/2010

My son has been doing the same thing and I am lost and so frustrated ,because he pinches ,scratches and hits 8 yr old brother and me all the time. I get so upset because no matter what I so or how I discipline him he still continues doing it . When he doesn't get his way he throws himself on the floor and literally screams his head off. WHAT THE HECK!!! My 8 year old never did anything like that ever. He was always real mellow and never threw tantrums . I really do feel like crying. If anyone has any advice at all or could help with even the tantrums .PLEASE ,PLEASE let me know !!! Thank you

Lynn - posted on 09/23/2010

My son is 17 months and has been doing the pinching,slapping and biting since 13 months and nothing seems to work.We have done time out,smacking his hand (makes him laugh manically and say 'again,again),Explaining it is bad behaviour and we do not do that,but nothing stops him,hour after hour it continues and is usually followed by banging his head on wall or door post very hard.
I never had anything like this with my now 13 year old son,I have no cluse what to try next.

Alex - posted on 09/23/2010

Hi, i tried putting her in her cot but it made bedtimes hard as she thought she was in trouble! i have started to use by the front door and it seems to work.. thanks for ur comments

Delaney - posted on 09/22/2010

yes my daughter has started this and is 17 months old. ive started the time out as well bc smacking her hand doesnt work and she is old enough now where she needs true discipline. the only solution ive found to the time out(besides fighting keeping her in one place was to set up her play pen and when she needs a time out, to put her in the playpen for 5 minutes in a room by herself, let her know she is in time out and leave her there for 5 minutes or however long. at the timer i go in to get her and explain to her what she did wrong and why she was in timeout. my husband has even made her start apologizing if it involves me or someone else. if you dont have a playpen, put them in bed. its worth a shot! they are old enough now to learn what there doing wrong

Dawn - posted on 09/18/2010

My son has started the same thing and I have been seaking the same advice people have told me to do the time out that is not working well since he just gets up from the time out bench and continues to hit smack bite pinch me. I have found out though that when I tell him to be good or play nice instead of using the thats not nice or thats bad it works better because i think he wants to please me lol if you find anything useful too please let me know I am dealing with this same issue. Good Luck and if I get anymore advice from people I sure will pass it along