Child Biting: How To Stop

Are you getting embarrassed to be labeled as Dracula’s mother? Yes, I know, it is really embarrassing. Biting is not unusual habit among children. The majority of children engage in biting between 1-2 years old. The most common reason is that it is one of the few ways of communicating that's effective for them, because both their communication skills and their motor skills are so limited. Children also bite to show they are frustrated or maybe because they just want to grab your attention. However, not all children bite. Some children choose other forms of communication, such as scratching the wall, grabbing, shoving, punching or whining. Teething also may be one of the reasons. They put everything in their mouths anyway, so why not someone's arm?

But, how to stop a child from biting? Here are some tips that may be work for your child:

1) Don’t bite back just to tell your child how painful it is to be bitten. A child easily learns from his parents. Remember that you are the role model to your child.

2) Stay calm and make it perfectly clear that the biting is hurtful and wrong and point out to your child how much pain their biting has caused. Or just firmly say “No biting, please.” Express that biting is wrong and unacceptable and that neither mommy nor daddy likes it.

3) If you found that your child is biting because of frustrated, try to give them an alternative to express to people they are having a difficult time. Although language is a difficult task for young children, most children can be taught words that are appropriate for such a situation. For instance, “Show mommy what do you want, but please don’t bite. You’ll hurt mommy if you bite, you don’t want to hurt mommy, do you?”

4) If your discover that your child bites another child, say sorry to him with sympathy and sadly in front of your child. For instance “Oh dear, I am so sorry, it must be very painful”. And also tell your child that he has hurt his friend. By this way your child will learn that it is painful to be bitten. Ask your child to say sorry to his friend too. Remove your child from the group if he bites again and implement time-out. Don’t forget to meet the child’s parents to make an apologize. If the bite causes wound, offer to pay the doctor’s bill.

5) If your child likes to bite all the time make sure you or your child care keeps an eye on your child whenever he mixes with other children.

Don’t hit, spank or shame your child in front of other people as it can lead your child to low self esteem. Remember that he is just a child. Sternly tell the child again that there is no biting allowed, that it is wrong, and that it hurts people. Sooner or later your child will understand.

By: Leah Fendi

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Leah is a stay at home mom. She loves being a mom and enjoys doing research about early childhood. Visit parentingyoungkids.com for more tips and advice on parenting young kids.