biting and hitting

How do you handle hitting? W will hit when you he gets excited and typically it is in the face when you pick him up. I have tried to show him gentle and to stop hitting. (we try to use stop more than no) He doesn’t do it when he is angry.
G has started biting – which mostly seems to be out of curiosity. But he will occasionally do it when he is angry with W.
We are trying to teach gentle, and use distractions/diversions which normally works. But nothing seems to be working. I know it is going to take time, but maybe I need to try something else. Or just keep doing what we are doing?

 

[quote name='Shelly's twins' date='06 September 2009 - 11:43 AM' timestamp='1252255388' post='1445106']
How do you handle hitting? W will hit when you he gets excited and typically it is in the face when you pick him up. I have tried to show him gentle and to stop hitting. (we try to use stop more than no) He doesn’t do it when he is angry.
G has started biting – which mostly seems to be out of curiosity. But he will occasionally do it when he is angry with W.
We are trying to teach gentle, and use distractions/diversions which normally works. But nothing seems to be working. I know it is going to take time, but maybe I need to try something else. Or just keep doing what we are doing?
[/quote]

 

I too have a biter. I've been told to remove the biter from the situation and give the victim the attention. It really hasn't worked for me thus far. I've found that my biter usually does more biting when he is teething or when he is responding in an aggressive manner to something that has been done to him. My nanny has had some success with giving 1 minute time outs for other things. That might be worth a try?

 

I would keep doing what you are doing: redirection, demonstrations of gentleness. I did not do this at 12 months (they were too young, I thought, to get it) but as mine got a little older, hitting and biting became TO offenses and I would (and still do) give them a TO in my lap for a couple of minutes.

 

At 12 months and really even now for hitting when they aren't being mean we don't do much more than tell them to be gentle, and that it's not nice to hit momma.

For biting until 18 months we would remove them from the situation, tell them it's not nice to bite their brother and try to get them to play with another toy. Now we do 1 minute time outs. The redirection didn't seem to stop the behavior, but the time outs do seem to have made a difference. I don't know that they would have any earlier though.

 

I had a biter at 12 months and not much to do except distraction and I found I got to realize certain areas or activities that they are likely to do it. I has come back time and time again, often when they are teething. Sorry to say but if they are inclined to do it now, it will continue to be an issue (or at least from my experience). Now we are doing time outs as they are older, and I think I'm going to give my daughter Ibuprofen prior to daycare (one day a week daycare) because she bit a kid last week. The Ibuprofen is good for 6 hours so I hope that will prevent further infractions until these teeth finally come in.