I have a house full of biting animals! Ah!
I'm sure it's a little worse because all three of the girls are the same age and are constantly going after the same toys.
I'm sure it's a little worse because all three of the girls are the same age and are constantly going after the same toys.
I swear everyday, if I turn my back for a second...I hear the shrieks of someone getting bit! It is so not fun and I hate running to the rescue to see a full mouth of teeth imprint on someone's arm or back or head, even!
Natalee normally is the one getting bit..by either Madelynn or Claire, obviously! But Madelynn is the main biter. She does it out of frustration and it is normally over a toy or even when I pick her up and she isn't getting what she wants, she will go and try to bite me!
We are starting "time-outs" but they don't understand and just seem to smile at the attention.
So what have you more experienced Mom's out there done for biting? Going to be doing a lot of research and trying to see what's best for teaching children not to bite! Any advice is welcome though!
We are starting "time-outs" but they don't understand and just seem to smile at the attention.
So what have you more experienced Mom's out there done for biting? Going to be doing a lot of research and trying to see what's best for teaching children not to bite! Any advice is welcome though!
I have been reading your blog since the triplets were born but I have never commented. Obviously biting is a learned behavior. To get my son to stop I had to bite him back. Did it hurt yes. Did he cry yes. But did he stop biting yes. Good luck! Biting is no fun!
ReplyDeleteI bite my son back. Not hard, but just enough to shock him. Normally it stops the behavior. And when it comes back, and typically not because he's trying to hurt us, but for whatever reason, he bites, we just bite him back.
ReplyDeleteAnd if that doesn't help, just remember ( and I can't stand this sentence! ) but it is just a stage! They will grow out of biting as they start to talk, and can communicate their feelings better. That's when I saw the biting stop with our son, once he could tell us why he was upset.
Good luck!
I agree with the other posters. I'd give them a slight bite back. Nothing that would cause pain, but enough to scare them. Somehow they learn that if they bite and mama may bite back, they shouldn't do it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!!
We would lightly bite them back
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I agree with the "biting back" theory... Although it is just what works for one mom versus another and one moms preference over another. My son is 20 months and he bit a couple of times when he was a little younger. Each time he would do it I would tell him very loudly and VERY sternly "NO, NO biting." I think just the tone of voice and the "mommy look" was enough to show my little guy that I meant business and biting was not okay. But I have a pretty serious mommy look and stern voice when I need it. I would say tell the biter no biting, and then separate her from her sisters, they may still be young but they will know that you are not happy and that when they bite they don't get to play anymore. Hopefully that helps! My son never bit again after only a couple of times so I'd like to think my stern mommy voice did the trick.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds really tough. I wonder how much having a new baby and a new house is adding to the biting right now. I hope it improves for you soon. I, personally, would not bite a child back. I think that is modeling the behavior you want to eradicate. Sure, it might show that biting hurts, but more than that, it shows that mommy bites and kids copy what is modeled for them. I second Seana's advice with being stern and consistent in telling them that it is not okay to bite. That is how I handled it with my triplets, although, it was not a quick fix. It might take a long time, but if you consitently tell them "No, biting hurts!", they will eventually understand...but obeying might take a while. Even at almost 2 years old, my kids still bite each other on occasion. I have noticed that if one of my kids is biting a lot more than usual, they are usually teething. At my house, the biting epidemic slows down after the teeth/tooth comes through. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about this! Only 1 of ours was a "biter" and she only did it a few times, normally to get the toy that she wanted from the other. But, whenever she would do it, I would pick her up, tell her "No, biting" in a very stern tone and then tell her that if she was going to bite, she could not play with the others. She would be removed to either her bed or a chair to the side for a time, and then I would talk with her before allowing her to come back and join the group. Because I wasn't sitting with her in "time out" she wasnt' getting the attention and wanted to come back and join all of us so badly! It worked for us and I hope it will work for you!
ReplyDeleteI had no advice but I'm so sorry you're dealing with this! :(
ReplyDelete