| A: Not knowing your child, it is impossible to give specific advice. However, I would be pleased to discuss biting in general, and encourage you to consult your primary care clinician for any questions this general discussion may stimulate.
The majority of children bite at some time in their development. The first time is usually around the age of one when there may be a playful substitution of Mom’s arm or cheek for the teething ring. After a brief “isn’t this cute” phase, parents are often shocked when it keeps recurring. If the child is in daycare, parents worry about their child being expelled, or being called by angry parents who are anxious about the possibilities of an infection resulting from the bite.
The one-year-old child has no idea it hurts. If parents or grandparents initially view the nip as cute, the baby reads it as fun and approval. So the initial reaction of the victim is key. It can either compound the problem or nip it in the bud. What not to do is as important as what to do in order to prevent a playful game from becoming a habit.
What not to do:
- Never bite back or use any physical punishment like a pinch or slap on the mouth. It doesn’t work and may teach a child it’s ok to do the same when he or she is older.
- Eliminate the love bites that children may copy.
- Don’t give any indication that the event was cute. Even a loud yelp from the victim might strike the child as amusing. Suppress any urge to laugh when it first happens-it’s a sure way to earn an encore.
What to do:
- This is the time for a firm “no.” Don’t worry about hurting the baby’s feelings. Look stern and serious as you interrupt the bite. After repeating this response with each subsequent bite, the child will get the message.
- After the stern “no” or “no biting” warning, immediately redirect the child’s attention to something else like a teething ring for a one-year-old, or a game for an older toddler.
- Since biting often occurs in daycare settings, review your method of responding with the childcare staff so they can reinforce how you manage the biting at home in order to keep the approach consistent. If the biting persists, or there are other concerns about the child’s behavior, the primary care clinician should be consulted early.
| -- Take Home Message -- |
| For young infants, biting often starts as a playful experiment. At other times and in older toddlers, biting may also be aggressive behavior that is unacceptable. The best approach is prevention by nipping it in the bud at the first bite with a firm, “no biting”! If biting becomes a habit lasting a month or more, is harmful to other children, or if it is associated with other aggressive, unacceptable behavior the primary care clinician should be consulted for counseling or referral. |
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