Hey moms, my 10-month old son is a biter! He has had 6 teeth since he was 7 months old, and he loves to use them. He doesn't bite when breastfeeding (thank goodness), but he bites my arms if I am holding him, and my legs if he wants to be picked up. It is worse when he is tired and/or hungry, so I suppose if I always attended to his needs immediately it wouldn't be so bad, but sometimes I don't realize he is tired until he bites me, and sometimes I am not in a position to feed him immediately. You know how that is, right? Anyway, it hurts really bad and sometimes leaves bite marks and bruises. He has done it to his dad, too, but doesn't seem to do it to other people when they hold him. When he does it, I usually yell (reflex), and say "don't bite me!" and either put him down or walk away from him. But I don't think he gets it. He usually just smiles and comes back for more. He is a really sweet baby and quite happy and loving. I thought he would grow out of it, but this has been happening for 2 or 3 months now. I know the principle of ignoring bad behavior rather than giving attention to it, but I don't know how to ignore it when it hurts so bad. And I don't think he is doing it because of the attention he gets. I think he just needs to bite stuff, and I'm usually the closest thing. Does anybody have any ideas for me?
I also yell out, more reactionary, than intentional. I then tell my son that biting hurts mommy. Right now he is biting my clothing more than me, and I know that it is teething, so after telling him that it hurts me, I get him some teething toast and tell him that you bite THIS, not mommy.
I would try flicking them on the mouth first, but sometimes it takes biting them back (hard enough to hurt but not to leave a mark).
my daughter had a (thankfully) brief phase of this... I would just tap my finger (gently) on her mouth and say "no biting"... saying it firmly, but not with a lot of emotion behind it. I'd also hand her a pacifier or other teether to bite instead.
if she bit me repeatedly, I'd put her down and repeat the "no biting" and hand her a teether... essentially removing her from the object she most wanted to bite (i.e. me).
be firm and consistent... and thankful that this doesn't happen when he's nursing! ouch!
This is so me, my son did all that and I reacted the same way, which I think really encouraged it; "look mom's doing something exciting!" I still do, but I think like one of the responses down below, if you can try not to scream, and instead discipline him it will probably stop. My son is 2 now and still bites me on occasion. ARgh.
I have two sister in laws who have had kids with the same problem. They both would flick the baby/toddler cheek to kind of startle the child but it only took about a week for the babies to stop.
I went through this with one of mine. This is what worked for me. Try to remain calm (tough - I know) but look at him and firmly say "no biting." Immediately put him down and turn your back on him for about 30 seconds. Just be absolutely consistent and believe it or not, he will start to get the hint - even at this young age. He will connect that biting means mommy's attention goes away - babies don't like that. Have your husband do the same thing - every time - no exceptions. And don't worry if it doesn't seem to bother him - even if he's completely happy he will start to get the picture. Hang in there!
Hi B.,
My son went through a biting stage from about nine months to about 11 months. My husband and I would simply tell him NO,it hurts when you bite mommy/daddy. Then we would place him on the floor and walk out of the room. It was pretty affective, as his biting decreased in frequency right away, and then stopped quite easily. Good luck.
