Around one and three years of age, a toddler will frequently begin to bite others. The most common reason for this concern is that this is one of the few ways that toddlers can effectively communicate with others. However, not all children bite. Some of them shove, hit, pinch or grab. That can be just as bad!
Also, toddlers sometimes start biting because their motor skills and ability to communicate are so restricted, that they have to express themselves somehow.
It can seem funny for a young toddler to see his mommy suddenly bolt upright or for one of her playmates to begin crying. Another reason for biting is that the toddler is teething or because they just think everything should go in their mouth so why not someone’s arm? Sometimes the problem is something as simple as hunger.
What means can you use to help your child learn not to bite? It has to be completely understood that biting is bad behaviour and can hurt others. Help them to understand that other kids feel pain when your little one bites them. Be sure to let your toddler know that biting is not allowed, that it’s wrong, and that it makes you unhappy.
If you think that your little one is biting out of frustration, help your toddler find another way to communicate that they’re having a hard time. Although it seems a gargantuan effort for your toddler to communicate with words, this is a great time to start teaching them the right words for a situation.
As an example, “When you need to tell mommy that you need some help, you can’t bite.” Or “Let mommy know what you need, but no biting. You’ll hurt her if you bite, and I know you would never want to hurt mommy.” This may bring a cloak of shame of what they are about to do and they may think their actions over again before actually biting.
Parents should not let biting become the center of attention. This is true of all behavior that you do not want to see repeated. Gently but firmly tell the toddler that there is no biting allowed, that it is wrong and that it hurts all sorts of people – both big and small.
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