My 19 month old daughter sometimes bites herself (usually her fingers) when she is frustrated. I'm guessing she does this because it's a way for her to release her frustration. Is there some other way I can get her to deal with her negative emotions?
How about giving her a soft teething toy for infants?
This way if she is feeling anxious or frustrated, she can have this soft toy
to "gnaw" on.
It could just be a nervous habit she will outgrow.
I agree with the other 3 posts. If she isn't causing herself harm, then it's nothing to worry about. But keep an eye on it. If she is biting herself in frustration, will she bite others when she is frustrated with them.
Perhaps steering her to "dancing her frustration away", or "shaking her sillies out" or "singing a certain song" to help relax her.
My daughter had a favourite chair and book when she needed a break. We taught her that chair was her special chair and when she sat in it no one would bother her. She could read, sing, whatever she wanted. Now that she is older, she has a chair in her room and we call it her prayer chair. When she is in that chair, no one bothers her. She is able to do what she needs to do to feel better. It has worked for years.
B.
Tell her/ "We do not bite our fingers, you can bite.. "(you decide what is ok for her to bite when frustrated).
And do this every time, handing her something or whatever is ok to bite.
This works for hitting, kicking.. what ever behaviors you are concerned about.
Redirection is your friend.
Honestly unless she is drawing blood or otherwise causing injury to herself I would just ignore this one and let it pass. A lot of kids that age still like mouthing things for all kinds of reasons: exploration, soothing, etc...
It's fairly normal.
If it really bothers you I would try removing her hands from her mouth and redirecting/distracting her with something else.
Good luck.
When and if she bites herself enough to actually hurt herself she will stop.
Teach her some simple sign language sign: help, more, hurt, etc.
Encourage her to vocalize her frustration.
At that age my oldest has a paci still and the he would bite it or his monkeys tail when he was frustrated. The daycare tried to take both away and discovered that was not good because he would bit others when he was frustrated. So be thankful that it's to herself and if it hurts bad enough she will stop. But I do like that other ideas. Give her something else to bite that it's not going to hurt. My youngest would bang his head against the wall and it drove me nuts (Boy still has a hard head) but my husband is like the more attention you pay to it in telling him over and over to stop the more he will do it. He grew out of it and so did my oldest.
I love the chair idea! Reminds me of a neighbor who had rocking chairs in her house for the same reason.
I think you just redirect.
You see her biting in frustration. Don't say anything about the biting, but say something like "It looks like you are upset/frustrated/whatever. Can you use your words to tell me why?"
Because eventually, you want to move her to expressing her frustration with words, not a physical action.
