Alright...My dd has started to bite me and my dh. They are small and she is always laughing and smiling when she does it. We give her a time out each time she bites, but I haven't seen any improvement. Any Ideas ladies? She is around other children and has never bitten them or any other adults, just me and my husband.
So frustrating, right?? My advise is stick with the reprimands and be consistent ... she will stop. She is, as they say, starting to test the waters.
My second son was an oral baby. Does she like to mouth other things? My son loved to bite fabric, so when he bit us, it was because he missed our clothes. I'd say ow, that hurts mommy, bite things not people and give him his own shirt to bite and he would like it and it satisfied his oral craving.
Try not to have any reaction. At this age even an "Ow" is enough to keep it going. Try giving her something like a teething biscuit or a teether when she bites.
redirection! timeouts are not recommended for children of this age. They don't "get it", they'll just wonder why you are leaving them alone. My 15 month old was doing this a couple months ago. I would keep my reaction to the biting as low key as much as possible so as not to make it a game, take him off of me saying, "oh you want to bite something? Here is xyz(something safe for them to bite, like a cold teething ring)." Realize they are not doing it to hurt you or to be malicious, it is a phase that you can get through sanely if you offer appropriate alternatives to the behaviour they want to do.
Both of my children when through this phase. We would ignore it and that helped a little. We also would react mildly emotionally with sadness/pain to show them they hurt us. Finally we would be aware of what triggered it and try to prevent it in some instances. Be firm and consistent and she will learn.
The first time my son did this was on the under side of my upper arm, where I have a lot of extra VERY SENSITIVE skin. It not only hurt like he!!, it really shocked me since we were in the middle of a snuggle. I think sometimes these little ones don't understand that it is not a form of showing affection. My reaction was purely spontanious, although had I thought about it, I am not sure I would have changed a thing. I firmly tapped him in his mouth and said "No, NO! No Biting!" He started crying, I think more from me being in his face yelling at him. He didn't even show signs of being concerned about his mouth!
To be honest, I find that at this age there is no reasoning with them, and you are back to the very basic learning, like if she would go to touch something hot, or put her finger in the electrical outlet, you would probably swat her hand away for safety. I felt the same way about biting. It really is a safety thing, maybe not for her, but for others. I have to admit that I feel strongly because I have a nephew that at 11 years old was STILL a biter when he acted spontaniously.
Good luck!
My daughter did the same for a bit. Instead of just saying "no biting" I would give her something she could bite (some cheerios, small apple pieces, etc). So, I was telling her what I didn't want...and showing her how to appropriately utilize the behavior.
It only took a couple of times before she stopped biting anyone.
My son went through a phase for like 1-2 mo just w/me and dad. I agree not to give any reaction other than calm "no biting, biting hurts". Make sure you aren't love biting her or putting her toes in your mouth etc, it can be confusing. good luck
She may be teething and it feels good to bite. My daughter bite a couple times I jsut said no no and I am letting her eat frozen peas and giving her teething stuff. For us that helped. I am sure she has no idea what she is doing... good luck!!
M. - I found when my little one was younger that if I made mention of something she was doing wrong she would do it more. I found just ignoring it and pretending she didnt do it sometimes helped. She would realize she wasnt getting the attention she wanted. Now if that doesnt work after a short time I would try something else but maybe its because she feels shes getting your attention. Try distraction of something else to bring her attention away.
My son starting biting for no reason when he was around 18 months. He would bite my husband and I and occasionally his brother and sister (12 & 13) if they made him mad. We made sure that everytime he did it we would tell him "no", show him the mark he made and act like we were crying (which sometimes we were about to). It was so hard because he would act like he was going to kiss you and then bite your arm. He didn't do it everyday, but it took about a year and then he was done. It was a rough time. My older two never went through a biting stage. Good luck to you!
