2 Year Old Biting

I know this will sound bad but what I had to do was, any time my daughter would bite I would bite her on the arm gentlely but enough the she did not like it and then I would tell her biting was bad and if he bit some on I would bite her back. It took a few times but it worked. I did not want to do this but it was recommend by a more experenced mom she had 5 kids. I had to bite her back it was the only thing that work for me.

Time out has always been effective for us. For a two year-old 2 minutes should be enough. We send to time-out for things like hitting etc. When we send them to time out we say why they are going to time out, then when time out is over we make them appologize first to me ("sorry mommy") and then make them repeat, "I will not hit" (plug in the appropriate word). Afterwards they need to appologize as well to whomever the behavior affected (e.g. "Sorry, brother"). Then we usually hug and continue play. It's been very effective for us.

Hi M.,
I dont think you should worry. My son at that age who is 4yrs old now used to bite and spit. I was worried just like you and he grew out of it. I know it gets fustrating having to keep telling him not to bit and he keeps doing it.I think you just keep have to keep telling him not to and sooner or later he will stop. hope everything works out take care:)

Bite him back. Just make sure you do it immediately upon getting bit. Don't wait to explain anything first. Yes, he'll cry but don't apologize. I never had to do it more than once per son. Instant cure. Btw, my return bite was through his clothes so as not to break the skin.

I faced this same problem with my now 6 year old son. We tried everything and it did not work. Finally, a lady who works with developmentally disabled children gave me some advice. Have your son carry an aloe vera leaf (in a ziploc bag) with him everywhere he goes. Any time he bites, have him bite the aloe vera leaf. The taste is awful. He will begin to associate the bad taste with the biting. The aloe vera is very bitter and tastes awful. It will not hurt him. This is what finally worked for us. Good luck.

I know this sounds a little harsh, but i really worked on my niece. My mom told my sister to have her bite soap. After two times of a good bite of soap, she quit biting all together! It was amazing. She never did it again. If you read about biting, all the experts say DO NOT BITE THEM BACK!

My son tried the biting thing, but I put a quick end to it by slapping his hand every time he did it.
Some of my friends have bitten their children in return. The child didn't like that it hurt, so they quit.
Whatever you do, consistency is the key.

Bite him back. Not hard but enought to make him realize that it hurts other people.

Hello M. - In case someone hasn't told you....YOU ARE A GOOD PARENT AND HE IS NORMAL! I went through the same thing and was terrified that no one was going to want us around because my 2 year old little boy was biting. He grew out of it. One thing I did that may or may not have worked (but it got his attention!)....I bit him back whenever he bit. I told him it wasn't nice and it hurt!! He would cry, but he stopped biting!! Good luck!

I think Michelle D did it right. When he bites, separate from him, put him in his bed, or some other thing that he dislikes...The game is over, Kid. Make sure he understands that the biting is what causes the undesireable consequences.

...And this is for the younger ones...

My nursing baby bears down sometimes while nursing, and I've learned that pulling him away actually hurts me more! So I mush his face into the breast more, and he immediately releases his bite. Works every time!

Punishment and consequences with children should be logical. Telling him "no" doesn't communicate that his behavior is hurtful and inappropriate.

WHen he bites just flick him right on the cheek - it doesn't have to be very hard - just quick and immediate. You don't have to yell or nag or gripe or scream or cuss or shout. :-) Just flick him and say firmly "No". That's it.

He'll probably try three or four times to make sure that the one always leads to the other and then decide it isn't worth it and quit. :-D

A. <><

I know this is not popular opinion, but when ours bit, we popped their fanny and told them each time they hurt someone like that I would pop them. They often are trying to express themselves or just control the situation.
While it may seem like they are not controlling it, they are- they got a reaction from the person they bit!

Show him a more constructive way to express frustration, maybe saying "I don't like that." And then do something that expels energy like going for a walk, climbing the slide, swinging. Whatever you can do. When they are active they don't have time to think about biting.

Popping him on his diaperd bottom also sends him the message that it is not acceptable behavior. He needs to learn what is acceptable ASAP. In today's world biting is transferring germs and well....I would rather not my kid bite things where there are so many fatal germs floating around. ;-)

The best advice that I ever got ... and it works.... bite him back! Of course, don't bite very hard but just enough to let him feel that what he is doing is wrong. I know it sounds harsh but he won't stop until it is done to him.

Been there! I used the book, "Teeth Are Not for Biting" by Elizabeth Verdick. It worked in my house, hopefully it will work in yours.

My darling just turned two and has moved on from her biting phase. It was so frustrating, she really only bit me or my other daughter. (The ones that she spent the most time with) As the other posts have said you can bite him back, I tried it and it didnt phase her one bit. But its worth a try, most people say it works. We just continued to firmly say no bite- that hurts. When she would bite I would end whatever activity we were in, If I was rocking her- I stopped and she went straight to the crib, if we were playing- I would get up and seperate from her. Then as she got a little older we moved onto time outs- we would tell her "no bite" then put her in time out. Eventually it passed. Unless the biting is constant and directed at everyone, I think its just a phase. (A very frustrating one) Im sure if you keep the same response and discipine each time he does it- soon it will stop. Good Luck!

Hi M.,

We just went through the same thing with our two year old son and knock on wood I think this phase has passed. My son attends a wonderful montessori preschool two days a week and they gave me the best advice. Biting is a natural instinct for little two year olds so give them an alternative. Both at home and school our son was encouraged to carry a teether and whenever we saw that he was about to bite a friend or his sister we would say 'no bite this!' it really worked! He was also encouraged to care for his injured friend by helping to hold the ice pack. It took a few weeks but we were really pleased with how well he responded to this approach. He understood cause and effect and learned to show empathy to his friends.

First- identify the cause of the biting. Try to stop it before it even starts. Is he angry, frustrated, tired, or hungry before he does it? Redirect him before it starts. If he is biting because he is teething offer him something to bite, like a frozen wash cloth.

Find something to do everytime he bites. In our house (an almost 3 year old and almost 2 year old) we say "No Biting. We show love to our family." The biter has to make ammends by giving a hug. I try my hardest to resolve the problem before it starts.

My youngest is our biter. She bites in retalitaion- like when her brother takes a toy. She lets out a specfic scream before she does, so I try to scoop her up right when I hear it and move her. If she does bite she has to give her brother a hug and we model saying sorry. We have to wait a minute between the bite and the hug because she will keep at it if she is still angry. I also offer suggestions for what to do instead when she is sitting with us. "When we are mad we can use our words or stomp our feet." She is a little young to really understand this, but she is still learning what is expected in our household.

I know this may sound cruel and unusual, but it worked for me. When he bites you, take hold of him and tell him "NO!" that's not nice. Then say let mommy bite you! then proceed to bite him gently, but enough that he knows it hurts. Followed by telling him "no biting, you hurt mommy". Eventually he will learn that if he bites you, you will bite him back.
It's really important to stop this bad habit now. If not, when he gets into a social environment, such as preschool, or play time with other children, he will be biting them as well and then you have a larger issue to resolve. Good luck!

Tell him "No bite" up to two times and then leave the room. It has worked wonders for us.

There are a million things that I could tell you as remedies, but trial and error and most importantly PATIENCE. Telling him no will not do the trick, but you can try time-outs, positive reinforcement, and what finally worked with mine a thump on the lips. I know, it sounds dramatic, but it was actually suggested by my pediatrician. It never hurt him, it just surprised him. My son had a very bad period of biting and fortunately we had very supportive teachers at his school. I would definitely suggest watching for triggers, just like anything else. With my son it was when he was having trouble communicating his words. Be patient and see what's happening when he does it.....that may be your answer. Hope I've helped. It is one of those things that DOES get better. :o)

You may want to talk to your pediatrician -they probably have some good ideas. Years ago when my children were small and in daycare, the daycare would keep lemon juice and spray some in the child's mouth for biting. I don't know if this is a good idea or not, I just remember them doing that. I think they have books that help teach small children what mouths are for (mouths are for speaking, mouths are for eating, mouths are not for biting). I think the best thing would be to just be firm and say, no...biting is not nice. You could hurt someone...and we do not bite. When I was little my cousin bit his dad once and my uncle bit him back...he never did bite again, but some people would not see this as a good solution and the bite would have to be gentle but enough to get the point across. I think just be consistent in saying "no biting" and taking privileges away and maybe trying the lemon juice so that biting is associated with a bitter taste would probably work. Good luck!

I have to agree with the other mom. I had a kid who kept biting my son, and I told his mom that I would bite him next time,and she agreed to let me. So first I showed him the bite mark he left on my son, said "that hurts him.See, he's crying." And I told him, "Now I am going to bite you so you know that it really hurts." And I proceeded to bite his arm just where he bit my kid. He NEVER bit again according to his mom!
They just don't realize that it actually hurts until it's done to them.

when i was little i use to bite people too. she would flick me on my nose or put me in the corner and i finally stopped after a few weeks

I agree with Beth. Give him something that he can bite whenever the urge strikes him. My daughter was two when my son was born and his little fingers proved to be just too tempting to resist. We took her to the store and let her pick out a teething ring and a pacifier clip to attach it to her shirt. She only wore it for a short time (luckily the phase passed quickly), but she loved it! She would tell people, "I bite this so I don't bite my brother."

my daughter was a biter and I heard of people biting kids back and you hear so much negative vibes about it I never did it. It went on for at least 6 months on and off but one day she bit her dad and he bit her back and she never bit anyone again. Needless to say my son didn't do it as long as my daughter. Her dad would have bit her alot sooner but I said no but I guess when he got bit really hard he didn't care he bit her hard enough to get her attention. I don't know if there is a better way or not but it worked and I didn't have that embarrassing entrance oh hear comes that biter.

Hi M.,

I also have a two year old, he was doing this but has stopped. He was doing it to get attention, in a playful way,a show of affection. As you probably know he was not aware that it hurts. I talked to several people about this and everyone kept telling me to bite him back, not to hard just enough to show him that it hurts. This is the only thing that worked. I hope this helps. Tina