My 15 month old son bites my shoulder all of the time. At first, it seemed that he did it when he was upset or frustrated and didn't know how else to express himself. Now, he appears to do it more often. This morning, I was holding him, and he looked at my husband, and then bit into my shoulder. I have tried moving his head and telling him it hurts. I have tried putting him down. I don't know what else to do, but this needs to stop! He seems to mostly do it to me, although he has done it to my husband and my mom before. It hurts, and I don't want a child who goes around biting people!
My mom loves to tell the story of me biting a little boy when I was your son's age. I guess I bit him so hard it drew blood. My mom was, of course, not only upset with me, but embarrassed as well. She bit my arm to show me what it felt like, and says that I never bit anyone again.
Hi Kori,
My 2 year old girl bit too. When I asked the dr. about it she said it was normal. Some kids bite out of frustration but also because it feels good to them. She suggested I give her something soft to bite on and also to set boundries that it is not okay to bite people. Time outs perhaps. Make sure you make eye contact with him and tell him no. Good Luck! Don't bite him back!!!
My daughter did this too (now 17 months) and she has stopped with the following plan. Have all respond to your son the same way. Firmly tell your son, "NO" and then give him a one minute time out. He will get the message quickly. Good luck!
That is very very normal for this age. And you are doing the right things. Just say, "Ow! No biting!" in a firm (but not loud or angry) voice and put him down. Don't pick him back up right away. It might be out of frustration, it might be affection. My little cousin bites out of affection and excitement. If you can figure out the reason why he's biting, it's easier to stop him. The other thing you can say is "It's not okay to bite mommy, but you can bite this." And then give him a toy he can bite.
