biting

[SIZE=18pt]DS bit me last night! [/SIZE]

Yes, I know that may sound not so surprising to many of you, but I was shocked! I used to work at a day care center with 2 year olds and I should have been expecting this, but I was seriously taken off guard. That was also almost 20 years ago too though.

I know my first reaction, which was yell really loudly and squeeze his cheeks a little saying "no!" was not right, but like I said...I was just so taken back...not MY kid!

What do I need to do so that he does not do it again or at least how do I react without making it such a big deal that he starts resorting to this behavior more often? Those of you with more experience?

BTW, I was putting his socks on after putting his PJ's on, so he was tired and he wasn't necessarily happy about being held (especially knowing he was going to bed soon).

 

I have one DD that bit me this morning! She was running near the pool and that's a no-no, so I picked her up to bring her inside and she bit my arm! She directly went in time out for 1 minute.

 

my DS was going for my toe the other day... I don't normally wear socks... so maybe he thought it was a new black toy...? yeah, I don't really want to encourage that!

 

Ok, I'm really hoping to get some ideas here, so I am moving my post back up to the top of the discussion board. I can't imagine someone would not have some ideas for those of us who have posted already.

 

Not sure about the cheeck squeeze part but honestly I dont see anything wrong with a very loud, suprised OW or NO !!!!
redirection is always a tool, and of course consistently telling them " we do not bite other people!" or " that hurts mommy" and then not giving the child anymore attention for a few minutes after that.
Ive only been bit once, maybe twice and with the tactics described we havent had any more problems. Hopefully your child will be as easy to correct!

Is he teething? or was he frustrated? thats normally when biting occurs.

 

I have a biter....I tell him no. I try to catch him in the act as he does it to DD and me! If I can catch him right before it occurs, he is told no and I grab his arm to pull him away putting pressure but not hurting him just to get his attention really.
If it is too late, he is put in time out in a pack n play.....and told no...

 

My DD sometimes will try to to bite DS when she wants something he has. I "hit" her mouth, it's really a tap and say loudly and firmly NO BITE and move her away from where she is so she knows she's done something wrong.

 

I am really gun shy about getting bit. DS2 bit me in the leg a week or so ago. He bit dd last Friday and "took a chunk" out of DH 's shoulder last night. It's a learning experience. :hug:

 

I havent had this experience...yet...but my mum always tells me the story when I first bit her. Her reaction was to bite me back, which she did. She obviously didn´t do it as hard as I had, but apparently I got the message loud and clear and NEVER bit anyone ever again!!!

I wonder if I´ll be able to do that if/when the time comes!!!

 

That is what my husband says we should do! But his reasoning sucks, he said it worked on the dog! (men....)
(It did though.... work on the dog, I'm not brave enough to try it on the kids....)

 

Both of mine were biters from about 13-16 months...we did a firm, loud "no bite" (and if it was brother that was bitten...gave him lots of attention and reinforced that biting hurts with the biter). Tried to watch for signs of it...if they do it, you know what to look for. Just try to be vigilant and consistent. We tried time outs too but at that age, it didn't work too well for my two. It stopped once their canines and molars cut in though so I think teething was a big part. They occasionally bite now but they do know it's inappropriate.

 

My experience is that what works depends on the kid's temperament. One of my boys responded really well to a few loud "Ows", being told that it hurt me, and occasionally having me walk away into another room for a mommy time out (there are times when having my little angels hurt me really ticks me off). He got it by the time his eyeteeth had come in, and now occasionally pretends to bite me very gently - he's totally aware that it hurts. Probably because...

...the other guy continually bites HARD when he's frustrated, no matter what I do to stop him. He tries to bite me and DH but we can avoid him and redirect, whereas he gets his brother anytime he's frustrated while I'm out of the room. I've begun to hope that Tom will bite him back, because I'm not sure how else to get through to him (and I can't bring myself to bite him!). He's not the most empathetic guy on the face of the planet.

 

Well, I needed to reread this post... my ds has started biting me more and just smiles when he does it!

I think I'll try to "NO BITE" more consistently.
Also give him something to chew on b/c I do think its teething related.
And somehow do a little time out or at least ignore him for a little bit.

I have thought of the biting back, but am wondering if it would send the wrong message that its ok to bite... hmm... I guess I could try it once with a firm bite and if it didn't stop it I could do something else... I'm always saying I could just eat them up b/c they are so cute, so maybe this is my chance!! ha ha!!

At least it seems its only me that he's biting, and not his sister!

Ugh! thanks for the advice above.

 

Jake is my biter and yesterday when he went to bite me, I did it back to him. He was REALLY shocked and cried. I told him "no bite" He still seems to try and bite Josh so I guess until Josh learns to bite back I really have not accomplished anything. But then again I don't want them biting each other to get what they want.

Jake will come at me with an open mouth like "watch out, I'm going to bite you" and then he'll start to laugh. I guess I'll see if me biting him worked; so far today I have not been bitten (but then again it's only 8:30 am )

I've tried the loud screaming and crying when he bites, but all that does is freak Josh out and he gets upset seeing me cry and then starts to cry.

 

My son has bitten me a couple of times. He also bit his grandmother on the shoulder one day.
She said something about biting him back. I told her I don't think I could ever do that. She said she wouldn't really do it either.
I tell him "Don't bite" but that's not much of a deterrent . Last time he bit me he had a big smile on his face afterward. I'm just trying to stay out of the range of his teeth right now.
At least he's not headbutting me like he used to. I'd rather be bitten. :unsure: