Stop Your Toddler from Biting

Toddlers bite. It's just one of the many phases that your little one will go through and it is completely normal. That being said, it is anything but pleasant for parents who are constantly nursing bite marks or dealing with irate parents whose children have been attacked by your rabid monster!

Children bite for many reasons, including jealousy, frustration, to get attention and as an experiment. Depending on why your child is biting, the solution will vary. First, you need to identify his reason for sinking his teeth into human flesh, then you can set about to fix the problem.

By observing when and how your little one bites, you can get a pretty good idea of his motives. Does he chomp down, then step back and eye you with anticipation, waiting for your reactions? He's probably biting for attention, if this is the case. If your toddler is surprised and frightened by a normal, painful reaction to a bite, he is most likely experimenting to see what happens when he chomps on someone's arm.

A teething toddler will tend to chew on anything near, whether human or otherwise. This means your dog or cat will probably be the recipient of a few teeth marks, as well as dolls, crib rails and chairs. If your toddler is biting out of frustration, you should be able to spot this fairly quickly, since children at this age are not good at hiding their emotions! Jealousy is yet another reason for your child to go after someone, usually a sibling who has something they want, or who is getting more attention.

It is important not to overreact when your toddler bites. Remove him from the situation and tell him that biting is not acceptable. Avoid biting him back or smacking him, it won't stop the biting and is most likely only going to aggravate the child, making him more likely to bite!

Avoiding frustration is key to stopping a child from biting. Most toddlers lash out when they are prevented from doing what they want. It is a normal reaction from a small person who is easily picked up and moved around by bigger people. Imagine how frustrating it would be if you were trying to accomplish something, such as making lunch, when someone bigger than you simply scooped you up and took you into another room?

To avoid this, try warnings before you pick your toddler up. Ask him to leave off doing what he is doing and let him know that there will be consequences, such as removal from the room. If he doesn't listen, follow through on your threat and you can guarantee that he will learn very quickly that you mean business.

Small children almost always go through biting phases. They don't continue forever, so even if your best tactics don't work, your child will have passed the chomping on friends and family stage by the time he starts school!