Babies & Biting
So I was having a really hard time with Anthony biting my thighs and my ankles for a few weeks and I posted a question to my instagram stories asking other moms how they handled this situation with their little ones. A lot of you asked me to share the answers so here they are!! Thank you so much Lauren for putting this together for everyone !!
Suggestions from fellow Instagram Moms
“Keep cool, this is only a short time. Kids do things like that. Maybe he wants more attention from you.”
“Drop of hot sauce right after he bites. My son used to bite all the time. It worked immediately.”
“We kept telling her that ‘hands are for loving’.”
“My mom said I used to bite my siblings and she bit me back and I never bit again.”
“My daughter bit me once and I bit her back and she never did it again!”
“Say ‘nice hands’ and use his hand to pet you nicely; ‘hands help, not hurt’ (repeatedly). Also, sit him down for a one-minute time out. He’ll get up, so sit him down repeatedly (this age is fun).”
“The less attention, the better. Time-out, no communication with him, no eye contact.”
“Same spot she bit the girl. My sis SCREAMED but never bit again. That was the 90s, though.”
“My boy is starting to do that. The worst is when my husband laughs.”
“Dump a cold bottle of water on their heads. Maybe that will wake them up lol.”
“Grab his hands and hold them tight and say ‘I’m not going to let you do that.’ It takes a few tries.”
“I do it back. Not sure that’s right, but it gets his attention.”
“I would look to function of the behavior…attention? Or wants something…maybe escape?”
“We bit back and pinched on hands.”
“My mom bit back. True shit.”
“Bite him back. My aunt swore it was the only thing that worked for my cousin.”
“Share answers! My son is a year and a half and he’s hitting and having massive tantrums.”
“Do it back! They realize it hurts and then they stop.”
“I haven’t had to…But I hear biting him back.”
“My response is too long for that box. Lead by example. As much as it fucking sucks, don’t hit or bite him back. Tell him no and remove yourself from the situation. Let him cry about it and be in his feelings. Tell him hitting and biting hurt.”
“Ally had begun doing the same thing. I just stick with a consistent ‘NO, NO’ and slap her hand regardless if she laughs (because she does it like Anthony lol). I probably say ‘NO, NO’ 85 times a day, but I notice at moments she totally gets it! Hang in there mama, consistency is key!”
“Hey mama! It’s a phase. Consistency is key, though. We always firmly say no and put our middle right in time-out for 2 minutes–1 minute for every year. It may seem like it will never end, but it does. My first son did it all the time and was so bad when he turned two. But it did get better.”
“You could try ignoring the behavior. Easier said than done, but he could be doing it for attention. Vivian bit me and hit me a few times and ignoring her was the only thing that worked for her. I think like you said, at that age, the punishment didn’t really work.”
“My mom made me bite a bar of soap. I never did it again. She would also pull it out so it would scrape against my teeth and I’d have soap clumps in my mouth. Apparently, pre-Social Services. I had it done twice and I remember both vividly. Once I bit and once I called my mom a bitch. I can still taste it.” (Wouldn’t recommend this because if they swallow it, it can be dangerous)
“I used to teach pre-school and we had a biter in the one-year-old room. The only advice I have is to redirect…give him something he can bite. That being said…Maverick bites me and it hurts like a motherfucker and he also thinks any type of punishment is hilarious. There’s a book called “No Biting” and that worked with my first guy.”
“Time-out. Simple words – No biting. Say nothing else. If he won’t sit, you sit with him without speaking to him or looking at him. Sometimes putting them in their crib as punishment isn’t good at their age because it’s their ‘safe, happy place’.”
“Yup, I dealt with this with all 4 of my kids. The only thing that worked was me biting them back. Yes, it sounds horrible but they learned it hurts and it…worked…for what, a day…lol. NOTHING WORKS, KIDS ARE LITTLE ASSHOLES. Get a spray bottle and squirt him every time he does it…seems to work for cats, why not kids? LOL.”
“All normal… biting, being bad… he cannot talk or communicate, so they bite. Goes away around 2/2.5. Ugh, it’s hard.”
“So hitting became a huge problem for us. There’s apparently a book called “Hands are for Loving” or something, but every time she hits we say “hands are for touching gently” or something like that. Then we demonstrate with both her hands and then ours. It’s been a process but she is MUCH sweeter now. She never bit, but I’ve heard the same thing works for that…“teeth are for eating” or whatever lol.”
“The only thing I would say is that even though crib is a good “jail” time-out, you also don’t want it to be associated with negative things. But if he goes to bed easily and doesn’t mind, then I’d say you’re okay. I don’t know, I’m not Ms. Parenting Expert. But you just don’t want him to think crib equals punishment.”