My 2 Year Old Is a Biter! What Do We Do to Stop This Behavior??

When I went through this stage two years ago with my then-two-year-old, I found very helpful an article in the Journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children caled A New Bit On Toddler Biting: The Influence of Food, Oral Motor Development, and Sensory Activities by Pamela Ramming, Caroline S. Kyger, and Stacy D. Thompson. The USC library has the journal and anyone can access the library (you don't have to be affiliated with USC). In short, the article recommends ensuring that toddlers have a variety of textures of food in their days so they can satisfy their oral impulses with chewy, crunchy, soft, etc. foods and maybe use those outlets rather than biting people. Becoming vigilant about food texture, along with telling my daughter categorically not to bite and reinforcing that lesson over and over and over again, helped. Eventually the stage passes, but it's very hard while you're in it. Take care of yourself. And please do not bite your child yourself -- doing that actually reinforces the behavior by showing that might is right.

Two year olds can actually feel empathy towards others. This is way we dealt with biting when I was a toddler teacher: when a child bit another child, we had them look at the other child and we'd say, "see, that hurt so and so, when you bit him, he's crying. Let's help him feel better." Then we had the offender hold an ice pack on the spot where the other child was bitten. Punishing for biting usually doesn't work because the two year old doesn't understand that the biting hurts. Sometimes children bite because they are teething or other times they will do it out of frustration, because they feel powerless. At other times, children think they are kissing and don't understand that their teeth hurt the other child.

bite him back!!! it worked for my son when he was 3 or 4. just dont take any meat off. he did the same.. always biting me or anyone. i even had his sister bite him back once because he wouldnt stop biting her on her legs, butt...etc..