Any moms of biters??

I need some serious advice...Rylan is a biter. Thankfully it's only me 99% of the time.

It started when he first got his teeth...he would bite my shirt in the chest area...pull it until it snapped back at me and do it again and again.

Then it turned into him nibbling me in the chest area as he was falling asleep on me.

Now it is full on biting...and hard. It is never ever when mad or frustrated...it's funny to him.

I started with saying no biting nicely and push him away. He would laugh hysterical trying to come back at me with an open mouth trying to get the closest body part.

I then started saying it firmly...he had the same reaction. I started yelling at him...he had the same reaction. I started putting him down when he did it. He would then yell at me and come back laughing for more.

I just started ignoring it to see what happened. I have to say he does it a tiny bit less but still alot. He'll bite me and look at my face...see that I don't look his way or say anything and do it again...and again and again...trying to get a reaction. I would like to continue with the "ignore" method to see if he eventually stops. The problem with this is before I would always stop him so he wasn't able to get a good grip on me. Now that i'm not pushing him away he is biting as hard as he can and holding on. I have bruises and welts all over me.

Like I said it's really only with me...he did it to my boyfiend a few times but that's it. I need to stop it before he does attempt it on someone else. I like to go on alot of playdates and would be absolutely mortified if he ever did it did to another child.

Does anyone have any advice or tips on how to stop this???

Re: Any moms of biters??

The twins were HUGE biters...in every sense of the word they were classic biters. I think that's why I feel bad when people give biters, or their parents, a bad rap. I followed every rule and tried everything. If they got frustrated enough, or felt the need to defend themselves they would bite...The eventually outgrew it. (in their case it wasnt b/c they werent verbal the girls were very verbal....)

Caden does/did what Rylan is doing. Not b/c he wants a toy that another child has...not b/c he is frustrated...just b/c he wants to try out his teeth type of thing...

We dont ignore it. We let him know very early that it isnt acceptable. With Caden we use a very loud, firm, NO BITING and place him in time out. Even if he isnt placing enough pressure to hurt me. There is no excuses. He cant be biting people plain and simple. I think consistency is the key...

I do warn playmates parents that he has been known to bite. Im not making excuses for him....He hasnt biten anyone yet. (well that's not entirely true...he did bite Marianna but she is here everyday and things are little bit different but even then they werent fighting or squabling he just bit her)

I know it's hard b/c you are always concerned that he is going to bite someone and that it's going to reflect upon you.

Hey lets have a playdate. Maybe they'll each bite the other and learn their lesson!!!!

Re: Any moms of biters??

I wanted to attempt to continue ignoring it only because everything else made him laugh at me. I mean i've YELLED at him for it and he'll still laughs. I'm so confused...I just don't know what to do.

I do have to say I wasn't 100% consistent with what I was doing in response to it. I'll have to try again with the "no biting" and putting him down. As much as I would like to ignore it a little more because it's the only thing that has made a small difference it is pure torture for me.

Re: Any moms of biters??

Elizabeth has been bit 4 times. I think it stinks for both sides. Sometimes its a pahse, sometimes its a response to feeling threatened and not being able to communicate. Hopefully he stops soon! I know it must be really hard for you.

Re: Any moms of biters??

Matthew bites us (DH and me) here and there when he is overtired or overstimulated. He isn't necessarily angry, sometimes he'll do it when we're playing, but I've noticed it always happens around nap or bedtime and during rough play. He too would laugh when I used my tough mommy voice (talk about a blow to your ego) and told him no biting.

So I've started giving him time outs when he's like this. I think the biting is his way of managing his emotions, but he needs to know this isn't okay. One I put him in his highchair and turned it to the wall, but the last one I blocked him in a corner of the dining room and made him sit there for a minute. It was long enough to calm him down, and yes he cried, but I do think they are helping.

Re: Any moms of biters??

Posted by Tine73

Elizabeth has been bit 4 times. I think it stinks for both sides. Sometimes its a pahse, sometimes its a response to feeling threatened and not being able to communicate. Hopefully he stops soon! I know it must be really hard for you.

Re: Any moms of biters??

Re: Any moms of biters??

Posted by DmarieK

Posted by Tine73

Elizabeth has been bit 4 times. I think it stinks for both sides. Sometimes its a pahse, sometimes its a response to feeling threatened and not being able to communicate. Hopefully he stops soon! I know it must be really hard for you.

This is what i'm scared of. He hasn't yet and he's around kids on a daily basis. I don't even know what I would do if he bit on a playdate...probably cry!!

I don't think this is the case with Rylan. He honestly thinks it's funny...he does it to get a reaction out of me. Why only me I have no idea? It really stinks though.

Re: Any moms of biters??

He might be too young to get much out of it, but it probably wouldn't hurt to try one just to get him a little calmer. Matthew is 17 months, and I started these about a month ago. Before that, he really didn't bite much, and definitely didn't laugh like it was a big joke.

You could try putting him in a highchair or pack n play for a very short time--no toys or anthing interesting to look at or do. It's not really a punishment at this point, I'm using more as a way to get him to calm down.