Biting Baby!

Melissa - posted on 08/04/2009

I know this isn't what you want to hear but you have to bite her back twice as hard that way she knows how it feels. its the only way i know that any child has ever stopped. its very simple just not what you were probabley thinking.

Jennifer - posted on 08/02/2009

My son went through that phase but he would only bite me. At that time I was working so he was in day care and he didn't bite anyone else. I asked my doctor and she said that because he didn't bite anyone else it could be that he was trying to kiss me. He ended up stopping on his own. I tryed to let him know that it wasn't nice and showed him what a kiss was. He stopped within 2 months. hope this helps

Laurie - posted on 08/02/2009

Thank you all so much for all your great advice. I really appreciate it. I am sure we will be over the biting thing very soon with these great ideas. I really do appreciate the advice.

Shannon - posted on 08/01/2009

my daughter would bite out of anger! I tried everything, and i finally bit her back one day when she bit her sister so hard she drew blood! That was the end of her biting habit... I'm not sure what i would do in your case tho as it seems its not an anger issue. I know that it seems horrible that i bit my own child but i tried explaining why it was wrong, i tried time out, i tried ignoring it thinking that maybe it was just her way of wanting attention, but the only thing that worked was actually showing her how much it hurt to get bitten.

Jane - posted on 07/31/2009

having her her bit herself was a good idea. she's not trying to hurt anyone, she's testing the waters b/c she's found something new to do and she needs to figure out where it fits in her little world. there is a series of board books, "teeth are not for biting", "hands are not for hitting", etc.

Ashleigh - posted on 07/31/2009

It actually has little to do with teething-they have many other options for things to bite. Most biting occurs during 12-18months of age, when they use their mouths to explore everything. It is also caused mostly by frustration, which makes total sense since they cannot verbally communicate their needs to us. Jealousy can sometimes cause biting too. A good idea is to give a teether toy to her to help her munch on that instead of people. Mostly though, you need to pretty much continously tell them that biting hurts, show them the injured person etc. and get them to hug or kiss to apologize. It eventually goes away don't worry!!

Sarah - posted on 07/30/2009

My nephew went through the same thing. I think it is because she is teething and also kind of experimenting with cognitive and social skills. She will probably outgrow it, especially if you keep trying to tell her not to. It's the kids who aren't told "no" that keep doing it. Don't worry, it's common. Frustrating, but common. Good luck!