Parents of Preschoolers  Discussion Forum

my baby is 2 and half years old and since some time she has started to bite her hand very hard when we tease her or do anything she does not like. Otherwise she is quite active and normal.
this act of hurting herself is making me anxious .
can this habit be stopped. how to go about it. Kalyani replied.
Biting has more to do with communication than with exploration. Toddlers often use biting as a way of getting their point across. They get angry or want a toy that another child has, but they aren't capable of telling the other kid how they feel. Lacking words, they may resort to biting. And it's often successful. They get a rise out of the other kid, as well as their parent, and that just reinforces the idea that biting really works. Try to ignore that by walking away.

Most children stop biting by the age of three, when they are better able to put their feelings of frustration, anger, or jealousy into words. When a child hasn't stopped biting by that age, there may be tensions and pressures in his life that he just can't cope with. A child who lives in a home where there's a lot of emphasis on discipline, with spanking and slapping, can end up becoming pretty angry. For some of these kids, biting is a nervous habit, like biting nails. NSK replied. Hi there

THere you go.I thought only my kids bit each other,well I think all our kids go through that stage.My older one 21/2 years old bit the younger one(13 months) for almost 2-3 months and stopped on her own.I just scared her that the neighbor's dog will bite you if you bite her.I even took her to the neighbor's house and showed her the dog.Also I rubbed some orajel(teeing medicine) on her teeth and once it became numb she didn't like it and would cry.That really worked.That is very useful and not harmful too.

Anyway,whenever your kids stars to bite,distract her and give her her favourite toy or tell her that her favourite character does not like it if she bites.Keep some seedles grapes ready always.Whenever you think she's about to do it just hand over the grapes and tell her its very juicy and sweet and tell her her favourite character eats it all the time.And another thing,don't ever tease a child,they don't like,you may enjoy but think about them,their mind is still developing,they will loose confidence in themselves.You as a parent must be cautious.Try the teething gel.Tell her if she bites again,you'll rub it on her teeth,infact just take a pinch and use it.Its sweet so don't worry.

Good luck and take care.
Don't beat the child


concerned mom replied. I have noticed my 2-1/2 yr daughter started bitibg as well - only to my husband(couple of times), for no particular reason at all. Asking and timing out has not worked so far. I am afraid she might expand her horrible habit onto someone else. She is a very well behaived child and understands when she did something wrong. She says sorry and will not do it again - obviusly this does not justify. Do not know what else to do. shobah replied. hi! Regarding your child who bites, maybe you should ask her why she bites herself. If she is unable to express herself then maybe you should avoid teasing her. However, she could be biting herself because she likes the attention she gets when she does it. You could just ignore her when she does it, it may be difficult but it's worth the try! charu replied. why dont you rub her hands with something really bitter, and good for health, the minute she bites them? Simply apply some karela juice or neem juice on her hands. She'll stop biting them immediately! Ranjana replied. Hey, my daughter is only 10 months and I have noticed she has begun to do that too..It has been worrying me too.. I think the only way to get them to leave this habit, is to distract their attention immediately, so that they forget their anger which makes them bite their hand. I try that, but it doesn't work!!