Biting

My son is 14 months old and has 4 teeth. He's recently started to try them out - on EVERYTHING. We tell him NO, tap him on the hand, and even tried putting him in time out. He smiles, laughs and does it AGAIN. We try to stay consistent, but this behavior goes on at daycare as well, and of course they aren't allowed to spank or discipline besides saying 'no'.

Well today the daycare Director informed us that he had bitten FOUR kids today alone!! That is NOT acceptable, and if he keeps it up could face being thrown out of the Center. Now, our twins (2.5) have been at the Center since day 1, the Director Loves us and our family, and will be willing to work with us (as she does with all of her problem children) extensively before resorting to kicking our son out. That is an absolute last resort that she tries not to use with anyone.

But I don't even want it to get to that. We need to nip this in the bud - NOW. Aside from what we've already tried, does anyone have any advice as to how to stop this behavior??

The funny thing is, he bit me ONCE while he was nursing, and all I had to do was Pop him off and tell him very sternly, "you are DONE. You are not nursing if you bite" I think also my yelp of pain startled him, but he just started bawling. I waited about a minute before I let him go back on, and he hasn't bit me since.... To bad that doesn't work for the other biting situations.

Thanks for any advice!

 

I know this might sound kinda cruel but the only way I got my son to quit biting was to bite him back(not hard, just enough to let him know that it didn't feel good). We had tried all sorts of other methods but they didn't work. Hopefully it is just a phase. Best of luck

 

Funny you should mention that, and thanks for reminding me! LOL That's EXACTLY what my grandfather did to me when I was first getting teeth (so my mother tells me) that after I bit him while he was sleeping, and he jumped up off the couch and bit me back, I never bit anyone again after that incident...

Hmmm.... I will have to try that.

 

Like in snow dogs???? Show him you’re the Alpha God

OK seriously, I am watching this post because one twin is biting the other… granted it is NO excuse but he only bites when his brother walks up a snags what he is playing with… but I’m like “frick… I have a biter… now what?” He doesn’t bite anyone or anything else… so am currently at the “hope it’s just a phase” and they BOTH learn to not snag or bite

 

my dd just starting biting-sometimes she does it in anger or frustration...but sometimes she just does it, dont know why. Anyway, we've been trying tapping her lip and saying "no bite" and putting her in the pnp for a minute, just away from the situation. But she doesnt seem to be getting it. All the books say be patient, ect. BUT I'm seriously concidering biting back...I've talked to a lot of moms who have said thats honestly the only thing that worked. Babies dont understand that it hurts...until they have it happen to them. Just have to make sure its immediate so they understand.

 

I'd try to be really consistent about not giving him a big reaction when he bites. Lavish attention on the victim, even turning your back on him while you are doing it. A negative or a positive reaction is still a reaction, so keep it as low key as you can so you don't encourage him. You want to say firmly, matter-of-factly, 'No biting,' or 'We don't bite,' and then move on to something else. Before you drop him off at day care, tell him you want him to be good, that biting is unacceptable and that you know he can do it. Do it every day. He'll get through this phase. I wouldn't bite back, but only because I would think it would reinforce the problem and send a confusing message ("No biting, except when I bite").

 

Not done the biting myself although some friends swear by it. Elliot was and is still the biter. I have just been consistent with my reaction and removing him from the situation. He bites much less now and will only ever bite Max poor thing! So I am hoping he will just outgrow it. Good luck!

 

I agree. I bit my mum quite hard and she bit me back but not as hard. I never bit again.

 

At 14 months old, biting is normal behavior. The reason it doesn't work when you say no, is because he is too young to understand cause and effect, and he just likes the attention. At his age, he doesn't know the difference between positive and negative attention, so all attention is good-to him. What worked for us, was to give an alternative, when we saw it coming, and you really need to be super vigiliant, we would say "no bite, kiss", and that really did turn a bite into a kiss.

The key at this age is to really keep on top of him, and catch him before he bites. I bet if you feel around the back of his mouth, you will probably find that his molars are starting to come through--or at least cause him discomfort. Once the molars pop through, the biting will probably stop.