Ok. So your toddler bites. Biting is unacceptable. All adults know this fact. What is it about toddler’s that makes them bite parents or other people? While this behavior is completely unacceptable there is probably at least one parent out of every four that have had the “My toddler bites” stage occur. It’s actually quite common. Toddler’s bite because they have not developed the proper language skills needed to explain their feelings. A toddler who is biting others probably has a high level of frustration going on and this is their only means to release it. Toddlers just don’t have any idea how to express this fueled up emotion of anger or frustration.
While we can step back and comprehend why your toddler bites, as parents, it is still completely unacceptable and frustrating to watch as our toddler continues to bite in response to a situation they are not happy about. There is hope, there is a light at the end of the tunnel because every toddler may have this biting stage.
My Toddler Bites- How To Stop it
- Analyze The Biting Response – start watching your toddler, when they react with a bite, what is it that was going on? Learn what scenarios make your toddler lash out in biting and work to curb those situations as well as have an age appropriate conversation teaching your toddler to express their feelings through other outlets.
- Distract Before Bite Happens – as part of being a proactive parent, you will learn to see what scenarios will engage your toddler into a biting fit. Work to redirect your child before the biting actually happens. Watch for the signs in your toddler that a situation is boiling up inside of them and use words as well as favorite toys to distract your toddler from lashing out.
- Read Books – children’s books are full of many life lessons and the cool thing is that toddler’s actually soak up everything you read to them. Toddlers are a sponge that wants to learn everything during this stage. Start reading books daily regarding biting as a means to subconsciously develop their responses to frustrating situations.
- Discipline – biting won’t stop if you just continue to redirect your toddler because biting can go on for many years. It’s important to discipline your toddler for biting. Make sure to use a firm voice and a consequence for biting. Each time your toddler chooses to bite out of frustration, immediately handle it with some form of consistently discipline.
- Conflict Resolution – once you have addressed the situation with your toddler, a consequence was made and you are ready to move on. Take a moment to have your toddler sit with the person they bit and discuss how it made the person feel. Take this moment to reach your toddler conflict resolution using their words or drawing pictures.
Curbing these ever so frustrating times of your toddler becoming a bitter isn’t easy. It will take dedication and consistency from you as the parent. Make sure to maintain a consistent response to all instances of biting to ensure your toddler soon gets the message that biting another person is completely unacceptable behavior. You will want to move on from this behaviour sooner than later.