Biting??? How should I handle it?
By Bambi09
@Bambi09 (227)
United States
December 20, 2009 12:43am CST
My one year old daughter Ava has started biting. And it's not the "Awww, she's nibbling on me" or a "love bite", its full on "I'm going to bite the crap out of you cos I'm mad" biting. I was sitting on the couch and she just walked up to me and bit the sh** outta my leg. I active on a reflex and pulled her off. BIG MISTAKE! She had one heck of a grip, and nine full flashing teeth. I popped her butt and said No. But did that matter? Noooooo. She comes up and hour later, crawling this time so I would see her, and bites the heck outta my foot. I don't know why she's doing this. And it's not playful. SHe's not laughing about it. I think she is intentionally trying to hurt me. My father says to bite her back. That's what he did to me and my sisters. But, she's only one. I'm not going to bite her like a bear trap but even if it's little pinch, is she too young for me to do it. I don't want my daughter to hate me, but I dont wanna be covered in bruises and teethmarks as well. Someone please tell me how you all handled the biting stages. Let me know what to do!
2 people like this
14 responses
@barehugs (8973)
• Canada
20 Dec 09
I think biting her back is the proper lesson to teach her. How will she know a bite hurts unless she gets bitten? I would start with an easy bite, perhaps on her finger, and move towards a heavier bite. I will guarantee she will learn, and learn quickly that - If she bites she will get bitten back! This will stop her nasty biting once and for all.
1 person likes this
@patms1 (521)
• United States
21 Dec 09
WOW! I got a chill when I read this. I would talk to her doctor about this. If she does this to another child she could not only hurt some one but if it were my child I would tell you to do something about her or keep her locked up. I am sorry but if I lived near you I would keep my grandchildren away from her. This child has a lot of anger for a one year old. She is also clever which makes her even more dangerous. Please get her help before she hurts someone very bad.
@Bambi09 (227)
• United States
21 Dec 09
My daughter's not a monster. So she doesn't need to locked up. I know all children go through a biting stage. Yet I don't know how to handle it so I asked for advice. My daughter doesnt bite complete strangers either. She isn't anger, nor dangerous. Thank you very much.
@srganesh (6340)
• India
20 Dec 09
Biting back!No!It should be crazy that your father gave that advice and it is odd that he claimed to have done it with you and your siblings.For heaven's sake,don't try this on your kid.Just give her mouth a spank with your finger the next time she bites you.It should not be so soft and not too hard.It should give her a little pain as a token of warning and she will learn quickly what she will get if she bite again.This will really help you.
1 person likes this
@Zaphan (710)
• Philippines
20 Dec 09
hehehe! I like the way your kid plays, maybe you kid wants to play or wants something from you, I am still reading how to care for a baby, maybe try to talk to her because they can understand it better, and try putting teething ring this can help your kid prevent from biting.
1 person likes this
@eddify (412)
• Pakistan
22 Dec 09
This is really bad when a kid is so small there is nothing much u can do about it. But I do agree with you father, you need not to bite her really hard a little will be enough for her to learn a lesson that it cause pain to everyone to being biten by someone. Other thing if she is not laughing or something I believe she is being hurt by something and if she is not able to talk by biting she is trying to tell you that she needs attraction and she wants you to give more time to her.
@StarBright (2798)
• United States
20 Dec 09
So you're raising a little vampire, huh? Is she teething? Could that be it? Try offering her a teething ring or something cool to chew on. Is she trying to get your attention so you will play with her? Then a firm "No biting" with your hand over her mouth to reinforce what you say may let her know it is not a good thing.
The natural instinct is to bite back as your Dad suggests. However, along with bruising your baby (BAD) you can teach her to fear you. Or she could become stubborn and you only teach her that biting is OK except Mommy bites harder. So she just picks her victims next time.
They are so precious in the younger years, yet they cannot fully express what they are feeling. You really have to do a lot of checking and play a guessing game. Good luck and God bless.
@highflyingxangel (9225)
• United States
20 Dec 09
My first instinct is to say that she is teething. Try that. Children that young tend to bite when teething to help relieve the pressure and to make their gums feel better. If you're not doing anything and she just walked up to you and bit that seems like the most logical conclusion. As someone above said try giving her something to bite and let her know that biting you is NOT acceptable. Get down on her level, look her in the eyes and say NO BITING. Don't yell, just say it sternly. Tell her that if she wants to bite she must bite a teether or whatever you give her to bite. Also, DO NOT BITE HER BACK. Bad idea.
However, if she does bite when it's frustration, well then that's different. Some kids bite for attention, some do it for territoral reasons. Those are handled a bit differently, but they are also reminded that biting is NOT acceptable. It will take a lot of work to stop a biter from biting but it can be done. It just takes patience and being stern, and never, ever biting them back.
@ravinskye (8237)
• United States
21 Dec 09
I've done many years in daycare and also have 3 kids of my own. I broke one kid of biting pretty quickly. With my kids i smacked them in the mouth. Not hard, just a little tap that stung enough to get their attention, not even hard enough to leave a mark. It didn't take more that a handful of times for them to get the point. I used the "do it back" method when they went through their pinching stage. But if tapping her mouth doesn't work, you might have to bite her back. She won't hate you, she won't even remember it.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
20 Dec 09
hi bambi09 well first time she bites do like one mylotter
suggested, put your hand over her mouth and say no you must not
bite me. no. And warn her next time you bite me, I will swat your butt. then do so, just a couple of smart swats should do the trick. people bites according to my doctor are the most dangerous of bites as they can get infected. do not bit back that will only make it worse.But a few sharp swats on the butt cannot hurt her and might just stop the biting.
@AnnieOakley1 (5596)
• Canada
20 Dec 09
Nasty little tod, eh?
Simple. Bite her back. It is the ONLY way she will learn how much it hurts, and that it will happen to her if she does it. I guarantee it will work.
If you can't bring yourself to do it, then I guess you'll just have to avoid the little 'biter' for a few months until she moves on to another habit to try.
The child must learn that there are consequences or she'll walk all over you for the rest of her life. But even in her simple baby existence, biting her back, in particular will definitely sink in. It is likely the ONLY thing that will work.
@ronnyb (6113)
• Jamaica
20 Dec 09
I have heard that at that age they can have aa might nice bite but the fact is I am not sure hwo to approach it .I think she needs to understand that there are consequences for her actions but not sure of these actions.I think biting her could be good but you should calm down before you bite her otherwise you may hurt her .Alternatively you could continue popping her but until she gets the idea and learns that valuable lesson
@madteaparty (2748)
• Japan
20 Dec 09
Well, biting back seems a little excessive to me, you're not animals. However, I think some kids don't learn with just a "no". You need to think up of some kind of punishment, and be sure to apply it every time your kid does that. In the end she'll learn that what she's doing is wrong, and if she does it again she'll be punished.
