Biting

I think at this age a simple consistent removal from the situation or time out would work. When he bites firmly say, "no, bite" or (choice phrase that you pick)and either remove him from the area and sit him in a neutral location such as hall or next to couch (preferably not his bedroom) OR you can remove yourself and remove all attention. Consistency is crucial and not reacting boisterously. I think these tots love to see our reaction to things so if you just firmly but calmly say your phrase and remove him or yourself you should hopefully nip this, however, it could take awhile. Good luck!!

PS You could also make sure he isn't teething (molars) that could be a cause for this as well (not that it makes it better but then you know why).

My little guy did this when he was about your son's age. It lasted about a month or so. We did what three of your other responders did, too, and said, "no bite" and removed him from the play area and from our attention for a little while. My child also only bit me, so I saw it as a testing phase. They test the ones they have absolute confidence loves them unconditionally. I've heard advice to bite back, but that doesn't feel right to me. I've also read that any physcial response from us (like biting back or any other kind of physical action like that) only confuses them. By biting back, it says "you can't bite/hit, but Mom/Dad can," which can't make a whole lot of sense to a toddler and therefore does not really teach them the lesson you want them to learn: biting is bad behavior. Anyway, just my opinions on the subject. It's a tough phase - I remember! But it will go away. Soon enough you'll be writing with questions on potty training, and hopefully I'll be done with it and have some answers. We'll see!

Hi T..

Yes, it is just a stage, but nonetheless, if it is inappropriate behavior, it needs to stop. We have had much success with the flick. You flick them on the cheek, near the mouth and say "no biting" each time they bite. This also works with spitting, sassing, lying (although "washing the lie out with soap" works well too), screaming and just about ant other "naughtiness of the mouth". Hope this helps!

T.,

My son went through a "biting mom" stage when he was about a year old. He'd occasionally bite other people, but went after me like crazy. It ended up being a phase and when he did it, I would say "Ow!" (that was almost out of instinct) Then, I would say, "don't bite",put him down, walk away from him whatever it took to remove myself from his area. It lasted for about a month or so, but he eventually stopped doing it.

Now, at two if I could just figure out how to get past the hitting...hmmm. ;)

Good luck.

T.

It's a phase just like hitting, pushing, pulling, etc. At this age, words don't come easily to express themselves, so actions are about all they have to communicate. Kids bite for many reasons...boredom, anger, just to see what reaction they get, teething, that oral sensory feel, etc. Our first has a very laid back personality and didn't have many issues, our second is a feisty one and an oral baby. He's now 21 months old. He's always liked to bite clothes, sometimes he would miss by accident and get skin. Somewhere around 18-20 months he bit another girl (stong personality girl who would pull and pinch, about his age, so I guess he maybe saw her more as competition) 4 times total (twice was in the same day). Thankfully, the marks disappeared within 24 hours, so not REAL hard, but it was out of anger so surely an issue I wanted to nip in the bud. He hasn't bitten since the day he bit twice and was firmly told no bite and separated from the group as he had his tantrum both times. Otherwise, when he would bite clothes, I'd give him his own clothes pulled up to bite and that would satisfy his biting sensory urge just fine. Looked a little funny but satisfied that toddler sensory need. Maybe biting on a blanket, toy, or something might help or some kind of schedule/routine change if a behavioral reason. Best wishes to you! It was a pretty quick phase for us, hopefully for you as well.

Continue to redirect your son from biting. It's a phase he'll sooner or later grow out of. My son was delayed in his speech and seemed to take out his aggressions with biting. He once drew blood from a little girl at the Lifetime Fitness child center. I constantly redirected him and eventually he learned to talk and express himself with words and not biting. With patience, redirection, and positive reinforcements when he doesn't bite with help you get through this phase.

Many might disagree with me, but eventually when he was somewhat older, He was upset and bit my shoulder and I turned it around on him and bit him back on the arm. Not hard to hurt him, but enough to get the message across. That was the beginning of the end of the biting stage. (he bit for a while....the phase to me seemed to go on forever)

Good luck

It is a stage and they say they bite people they are comfortable around I don't know how true that is, but still my daughter did it and I just made sure I let her know it is not exceptable and just stick to it keep the time-outs and let him know it hurts mommy and it is not nice hopefully it wont be long before he grows out of it. Good luck