HELP 15 month old biting everyone!!

[luvsJack]

I may get flamed for this (but I don't care really) and someone else may have already said it. I didn't read all the responses, but when my DS26 was a toddler he started biting everybody and I couldn't get him to stop so I bit him back. Hard. I bit him hard enough to make him cry and he never bit anybody else again after that. It only took once.

I cannot explain why biting backs works for some children and not for others but the fact remains

Its expecting a lot of a toddler to expect them to reason out that when they bite someone it hurts just like when someone bites them. Most just do not have those kind of reasoning skills.

 

[shaylahc1]

Bite him back! It worked for me....and it worked for my son I have never heard of anyone biting their kid back and having it not work. OTOH I have seen plenty of biters who were "poo pooed", ignored, etc, and it only escalates the behavior. Biting hurts and should not be tolerated.

Once is all it took for me when I was a toddler, and ditto for my son.

 

[roxysmum123]

Some of you "professional" PP have intentionally taken what I said out of context and added your own words. If you would have bothered to read it, I said, "just enough to cause a little discomfort and NOT leave marks". But some of you are "perfect" parents yourselves so don't think anyone else can possibly have any solutions.

As an actual "professional" (as you put it) working for children and family services I can tell you there are a great many families involved with agencies like the one I'm at, as well as around the country, who have had investigations opened because they used punishment "just enough to cause a little discomfort and NOT leave marks". You don't know how much is too much until it's too late, and while a 15monthold may not say anything to a caregiver, a 2 yearold could very well tell a daycare provider, doctor, dentist, etc. "mommy bit me" innocently and completely out of context, which in many states is enough to have us knocking at your door ruining your day.

This is not taking anything "out of context", this is "professional" experience speaking from working with parents who say "it didn't leave a mark, and I didn't mean to hurt them" on a day in and day out basis.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Some of you "professional" PP have intentionally taken what I said out of context and added your own words. If you would have bothered to read it, I said, "just enough to cause a little discomfort and NOT leave marks". But some of you are "perfect" parents yourselves so don't think anyone else can possibly have any solutions. But, unlike you, I have a soft heart toward the victim of this aggression when they are hurt and bleeding, and I WILL not tolerate it. That's my say on this and you can continue with your own solutions while I enjoy the coming New

Bite marks were found on the dead child.

Police: Slain toddler had bite marks

Toddler Hospitalized With Broken Wrists, Bite Marks

Dad charged with murdering bitten girl

Man pleads guilty to abuse charges; toddler had bite marks on body

Toddler’s bite marks lead to single Mom’s arrest for child abuse

Bite Marks On Child Led To Arrest

Toddler Abused, Mother and Boyfriend Arrested

Babysitter Gets 30-Days For Biting Toddler During Game Of “Vampire”. three bite marks were clearly visible

Man who bit toddler 'to teach her right from wrong' and fractured her skull in horrific beating is jailed. He claimed he bit her only to teach her 'not to bite others'.

Babysitter arraigned in death of Staten Island toddler. he was covered with old bruises, bite marks

* Initially going to add links for verification but many of the details too gruesome.

If you want to delude yourself into thinking an adult biting a toddler hard enough to make an impact won't lead to some form of bruising, you are sadly mistaken. Good luck with that.

 

[luvsJack]

Bite him back! It worked for me....and it worked for my son I have never heard of anyone biting their kid back and having it not work. OTOH I have seen plenty of biters who were "poo pooed", ignored, etc, and it only escalates the behavior. Biting hurts and should not be tolerated.

Once is all it took for me when I was a toddler, and ditto for my son.

I have seen plenty of kids that the parents bit back and it only made it worse. No one ever suggested she ignore it but there a many techniques that can be used that are not on the border of abuse.

 

[Grendalynn]

"Opinions are like _____ (you fill in the blank), everyone's got one." Just like our parents rubbed whiskey on our gums when we were teething, some beliefs have changed over the years (and whether is works or not)...

This thread has taken an extreme turn... we have gone from biting help for toddlers to child abuse accusations and police reports.... We should all agree to disagree and simply offer our advice.

As we can see - there are all types of parenting. We obviously dont agree, but the OP did ask for help and opinions. No one should be shunning another for things that worked/didn't work for them. If we were all the same - it would be a boring world and there would be no Disboards...

 

[luvsJack]

But, things like the whiskey on the gums we learned WHY its not the right way to handle the problem (which by the way, actually does work as I used it on myself when my wisdom teeth were coming in--just wouldn't do it to a child); the same should happen with biting a biting child.

If another child happens to bite a child that has bitten him/her, that's one thing. Its a natural reaction from that child. For a parent to do it, just isn't right. And, just like the whiskey worked, there are children that biting back does stop the problem; but there are many more that it just makes the problem worse.

You are correct that anyone asking for advice is going to get many different answers, but if there are people that have learned from experience that some advice given is not the best option then I think person asking needs to know that too.