My girls are almost a year old, they are both walking and have been since 9 months. Now they are biting each other when one takes the toy away from the other. They have also bit my DS who is 4 when he has been playing with them. (both on seperate occasions) When changing diapers, they try to bite. I try to just offer toys and kisses and hugs, but it seems when they are frustrated....they go for a bite. Help, is this a stage?
Hopefully just a phase. Is it possible they are teething? I thought my one DS was going to be "a biter", but it turns out he was teething, and once some more teeth popped through, the biting stopped almost completely. Sounds like you are doing everything you can in terms of redirecting, etc.
I agree with Maggie, it sounds like it might be teething!! My guys get so "mouthy" when they are cutting teeth, but they're normally not biters. I've heard that you can try to redirect the biting into kissing. When my guys hit, I say "touch nice" and model it for them. This really works! :good: Some mamas have had success with this and biting. Also, when my boys are feeling bitey, I give them appropriate things to bite to get their frustrations out, and to alleviate any teething pain. I have given them super stale, hard-as-a-rock bagels to gnaw on (while closely supervised), and Nate really likes to bite the head of his lovey. When Nate is teething he will bite down so hard that his whole body goes rigid. I can tell he has that achy tooth pain that feels better with pressure. Cold washcloths and rubber teething rings are good too. Good luck, and I hope this phase passes soon!
My DS is also a biter when he gets mad or frustrated. It is usually a phase they go through, much like tantrums, when they aren't verbal enough to express their frustrations. I just say "no bite" firmly and then pick him up and move him away from the situation. Although, not sure what I would do if he did it while changing!
I too need suggestions for help with the biting. My twins are 16 months old and we have been having terrible issues with biting, with one twin in particular. Rachael has left some mean teeth marks on Sarah this past week. It's just terrible. One of the hardest things is that it happens a lot when they are in the double jogging stroller. Up until now we mostly use the front/back stroller to go out and about and saved the jogger for walks, but now that the summer is here they've been spending more time in the jogging stroller...like today when we went to the water park. As the afternoon wore on, Rachael just grabbed Sarah's arm and clenched down. I don't know if it's because they were getting hot, tired, sick of sitting in the stroller or what, but it has to stop!!! I think I will try to redirect (kisses) or give her something else to bite on. Can I discipline her at this young age? Will it stick? Time out? Speak to her firmly? I dont' know what to do???? shannon
