parents out there help me!

[AussieintheUSA]

My three year old daughter has suddenly started biting everything from her brother to toys. she bit the baby so hard that it left a bruise yesterday and then after I talked to her about it she just did it again today. Right now I have her sitting on her bed (there are no toys in her room) but I just dont know what to do about it, I am so mad and sad. My four older children never bit anyone.
If any of you have had similar experience have you got any ideas how to deal with it.

[UrbanFool]

I think all kids go through a biting thing. My brother (10 years younger) is lucky he's still alive... I can't count how many times I've been bit.

[cece1960]

I have three kids, only my daughter was a biter. The good news is that it did pass, but not before I had to repeatedly remove her from interacting with other kids.
I think she was a bit younger, but I did realize that she was still teething (back teeth) and I think that contributed to her knawing on toys and such. My guess is the biting her brother was more of an aggressive act.
Thinking back he probably had it coming
Maybe finding something she's "allowed" to bite will distract her long enough to forget about it?
Good luck
Cece

[BigSis]

My son did it at daycare - he bit another boy so badly that it left bruises in a teeth-mark ring... yikes! He was about 18 months at the time, and may have been teething. The provider separated the two boys and told my son "No!" in a stern voice. He did it again, but not so hard next time.... jeeze, thank goodness the kid he bit was a 4th child - had it been a 1st child, the mom would probably have come after us!! But she was so used to this... then about 6 months later, HER son bit MY son and left teeth marks! (They ended up being friends in high school.... but that is a different story).

At 2 and half years of age, my daughter did it to the daycare provider. The provider was holding her in her lap and sis just leaned over and bit the woman on her arm or upper chest (I can't remember which). The provider .... slapped her. Not hard, and she told me she did it actually without thinking. (I know, I know... what kind of a provider would slap a two-and-a-half year old. This was the only incident, and she was very up front about it). Sis never did it again, but I don't know if she was shocked into not doing it by the slap, or not. I had difficulty even writing this out ... so I KNOW that isn't the right answer.

Time outs (1 minute per each year of age) are probably the best thing, along with "no. we don't bite".

Have you checked with your pediatrician? Mine was always getting phone calls about stuff like this, and she handled them gracefully. You might give yours a call.

I wish you the best...

[best]

My two that did the same, stopped just as fast.

Just gave correction and kept an eye on them. Did some ROTFLMAO with one or two of the bites to adults....try not to laugh, it may encourage them to stay with it another week or so.

Told my son to bite himself and tell me what it feels like. No! Harder and tell me what harder feels like. Now don't do that to others.

[unspun]

My son is 2 and half. He went through a few months of biting people. It took a while of time-outs(suggested to me 1 minute per age) for him to realize the consequences of his actions. But he did learn. It takes time for a child to learn new behaviors, so have patience(easier said than done) it will pass

[CarolD]

I bit back....that ended the action.

[bikewench]

Hey Aussie...

you might find something helpful on these sites...

http://www.nncc.org/Guidance/dc16_children.bite.html

http://www.parentlink.act.gov.au/par...ntg_biting.htm

[namommy]

I did what carol did. All of my kids went through a biting stage, they all got bit back and it stopped.

[Ann]

I was a biter

Until my mother bit me to let me know how it hurt. I never bit again....yet

Hugs
Ann

[lulu70]

Often kids bite because they are frustrated (duh..) and don't know how to voice their angst. Obviously, she should be told firmly "NO BITING!" but you can also encourage her to "use her words" if she doesn't like what is happening. Then give her an example of what to say. If she is three, it is also not unheard of for a child of three to have 3 minutes in "time out." We use what we call the "think spot" in our school. (I'm a preschool teacher, in case you wondered.) If all else fails, you could always take Carol's advice!!!!! (Love it!! )

[pedagogue]

The '1 minute per year' is a pretty good rule of thumb. Make sure that you also praise the child when he is acting appropriately. The combination of positive praise and enforcement of negative consequence should extinguish the behavior.

-p