How can I get my almost 12 month old daughter to stop biting me?

Question

She has her front teeth already so I don't think it is because she is teething but just in case it is I provide her with a wide variety of teething rings. She seems to be doing it out of affection. She only bites me. I have been given advice from nearly everyone I ask to bite her back but feel like she is too young to understand the correlation and I really don't want to cause her pain. I have tried time outs in her pack and play and I have strongly told her "No biting" but nothing works! I am looking like an abused housewife, I have bruises all over my arms and legs. Any advice is appreciated.

Answer 1

just divert the child to somme other topic.when u observe that she is about to bite u,then tell her some other thing,like u can show her the toy which likes the most or immediately carry her in to the corridor or som open space where she can see some birds,vehicles or something  else

Answer 2

When she bites you, firmly tell her that biting hurts and then give her something that she can bite on. Explain to her that when she needs to bite, this is something she can safely bite down on.  Children bite for so many reasons: inability to express their emotions, tiredness, personal feeling of lack of control.   If she's biting you and only you and you think it's because she's showing "love", give her another way to show how she feels. "I know you love mommy, give me a hug instead."  Then give her a hug. If it's because she's so wound up that she needs something to release the energy, give her a frozen washcloth to chew on.  Explain to her why you're doing it. "Biting other people is not nice. I do not like it. Here is something you can bite."  Then when she does bite on to the object tell her how happy you are that she's using it and not you. Whatever you do, don't laugh. Then she'll think it's a game. Pretending to cry won't work as well because she'll see she gets a reaction. The key is to be as calm as possible and brush it off as best you can.  If that doesn't work remove her from the situation and redirect her towards something else. Good luck!

Answer 3

You don't have to cause her pain, but you do need to startle her. Strongly won't help - what you need to do is SHOUT "NO!" when she bites and either jump away or push her away. Then you go with the strong "no biting". But you need to startle her first.

I don't think biting back would do anything - I agree, the correlation is too complicated. Timeouts are even more detached from the cause. Personally I'd be tempted to use a sharp tap on the hand at the same time as the NO! (again, more for the shock than to cause pain) but I appreciate many people don't want to.

Answer 4

Let her know how much it hurts. She understands ouch! Or tell her to bit her own arm and see how much that hurts. Start acting like your crying.

Answer 5

I did the whole bite them back, but not at the age of 1. Your right, they just don't understand whats going on. When she does bite you yell out in pain really loud, then tell her in a very firm voice. No biting.

Answer 6

dont bite back because at the age she is now she will think this is funny if you bite back and that your playing a game i tried it with my 13 month old and it didnt work, i just ignored her as much as i could and when she would go to bite me i would just move her away and not let her sit on me then pick her up again the biting has stopped it has been a week now

Answer 7

It is not uncommon for a toddler to bite for many reasons. This is usually because she is too young to adequately express herself with words. She knows she's supposed to use her mouth, so this is the only other alternative! Generally, this behavior dies down as soon as a child can talk clearly enough to make her wants known.

Meanwhile, you need to stop the biting as much as possible -- not an easy task! Each time your daughter bites, you will need to tell her the rule "We do not bite!" in a strong tone of voice, and put her down or walk away. Even though she will probably cry a great deal, you should tell her, "There is no biting. You can't have (whatever it is) now because you were biting."

Sitting a child this young in time out will not work because she won't be able to make the connection between her action and the discipline. But taking away whatever she wanted / putting her down while repeating the rule should make a difference.

Main thing is, it's very normal. Every parent goes through it. I hope this helps.  

Answer 8

if she hits you and not knowing " thinks she is playing then tell her that you are going to do the same to her and then do the same and when she cries said say sorry to me and kiss it then you say sorry to her and kiss it

now if she is doing it by rage or anger you should give her a time out or remove one of her toys to let her know that this is unacceptable at all .. and keep telling her NO hitting and each i mean each time she hits you have to react if you let her do it without consequences one time then all what you done will be ruined .  

Answer 9

Well my brothers kid started biting me when she was teething but she stopped eventually. But maybe it would work biting her ( very lightly) its worth a shot or put a binky in her mouth 24/7

Answer 10

Every one says bite them back, that's what we were told too. If it's any consolation, they all bite, because they are animals, and all animals bite, but they grow out of it. Ours was our shoulders, we'd be lovingly holding our treasured child and he'd lean forward and sink his teeth into our shoulders.

Time will grow her out of it, you just have to be consistent in telling her no when she bites, if you're holding her (and it's safe to do so) put her down when she bites you so she associates it with a negative consequence.