Dr. Matt’s 8 Tips To Stop Your Child From Biting
A biting child is no fun, causes problems with peers and siblings, and while it may not be completely abnormal behavior, it's definitely not acceptable.
What Parents Need To Know: Biting is a normal behavior or phase for most younger children. Kids often bite when they are teething, tired, jealous, frustrated, or mad. They may simply do it to see what happens - they are exploring, this is especially true of infants and younger toddlers. As a parent you should be careful not to overreact when your child bites, which can reinforce the biting because your child gets excited about the reaction it brings about.
So, what can a parent do to discourage the bad behavior of a biting child?
1) Firmly say "No biting!", remove the biting child from the situation and ignore him/her for a few minutes.
2) Administer an appropriate consequence such as removal of a toy or a time-out.
Provide positive attention to the child who was bitten.
Provide some praise and positive attention when he/she isn't biting and is playing nicely.
Remind him/her not to bite from time to time, including a short reminder that biting hurts.
Avoid placing kids in a common conflict situations.
Stick to a good routine all day, including meals, naps, and playtime.
Never bite a biting child back to "show them" it’s wrong.
With proper interventions, most kids stop biting after a few days or weeks. Think of it as a training issue, we can train them out of this behavior.
