Toddler Biters...Advice Needed

[cgcw]

My DS went through this too. It was awful. He would bite the same girl every day. As I was the little girls daycare provider, it became a really difficult situation. No matter how many time outs he got, it didn't stop. After about 5 days of this in a row, I was ready to pull my hair out.

The last bite happened and after I was done consoling the child, I went to the fridge and took out a bottle of French salad dressing. I told my DS it was hot sauce ( ) and if he ever bit her again, it was going in his mouth. I made hot sauce sound awful and told him it would burn his mouth. That was all it took - we never had a problem again.

Some would say that I lied to my child. I'm sure he didn't get scared by it. Someday he might decide to try that bottle of "hot sauce" we have in the fridge and find out I was stretching the truth. But, I'm sure we'll live through it.

 

[Rachie0507]

I had a biter too. DS did it from 16 mos to 2 yrs. I REFUSED to bite him back--my mom wanted me too. He would bite his sister or the little boy I babysit. Usually it was out of frustration--wanting a toy someone had or saying something nobody understood. I learned to watch for his signs of frustration and jump in. I talked with his pediatrician about it and he put it into prospective for me. He said all toddlers have some kind of release for their frustration--most it is physical while some it is yelling and screaming. He said Nate's way was biting but in it really wasn't any better or worse than hitting, pushing or screaming. It just left a bigger mark!! He also said we just had to wait it out. Sure enough, it stopped shortly after he turned two. I felt horrible everytime he did it. I'd talk to him, give him a time out. He would cry and say "sorry, sorry, sorry". He knew it was wrong but just had no self control yet. That comes with age.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I know a lot of people say "don't bite him" but I have to tell you my nephew was a terrible biter when he was 2 -3. My sister tried everything, finally she bit him (not too hard). He never bit again. It seems to work, I don't think it does any permanent damage, so I would try it and see what happens.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Our DS only bit a couple of times. Here's what we did-when he bit, we'd hold his nose closed, not pinch it real hard, just close it so he could only breathe through his mouth. Then he let go. After a couple of times of that, he equated biting with the feeling of suffocation (he couldn't breathe through his mouth very well if he was biting). Maybe we were just lucky, and also he bit down and held it-I don't know how this would work if he was the "bite and run" type. But thank goodness we found a fast, easy cure for us!