How Can I Stop My Child From Biting People?
The Biting Solution is a proven method to quickly stop the frequent biting of a toddler, two year old, or young child.
This method is based on more than twenty years as a consultant successfully helping children, ages zero to three years, with severe biting habits. You can become an expert, too! First, identify specific "stressors" for the toddler or child and reduce the ones you can. Then, instead of simply scolding a biter after a bite attempt, "coach" the child offering alternatives for expressing their feelings and needs, specific words and actions that are relevant to that situation, i.e., things that will work a lot better for them next time they have the same problem!
Any toddler or child struggling with a biting problem needs coordinated help from home and from the child care center, in order to learn better impulse control. Collaboration is the key to your success. You will ask yourself seven questions to get at the root of the biting problem, since there are always several reasons for the biting. Then, armed with a better understanding of how the toddler or child is experiencing the world, you'll work together to make changes to the environment, to your interactions, to your expectations, and to teach new social skills. This approach includes ways to prevent biting and ways to intervene like a good "coach" while biting is still happening. And, good news...these same techniques work great for all hurtful behavior issues, not just biting!
The Problems
Does your child attempt to hurt other children on a regular basis?
Do you feel frustrated because you can’t figure out why your child does this?
Do you dread picking your child up at the end of the day?
Are you worried about getting expelled from child care?
Are you getting a lot of negative feedback from family and friends?
The Solutions
Uncover ALL of the reasons behind the behavior; it is NEVER just one reason
Look for the links or the inconsistencies between home life and group care
Reduce the stressors that are exacerbating the behavior
Learn how to more effectively respond to fighting and biting and teach new behaviors
Make specific, impactful changes in each of the seven key areas
The Biting Solution
The Expert's No-Biting Guide for Parents, Caregivers, and Early Childhood Educators
By Lisa Poelle
Biting is one of the most aggressive toddler behaviors that parents and childcare providers have to handle. Though the first bite can often com as a complete surprise—a normally mild-mannered child takes a chomp—the habit is a difficult one to break. This helpful guide provides parents and caregivers with recommendations for prevention, immediate intervention, and long-term solutions, and includes a puppet show script and a song that adults can use to help children learn to communicate without biting, hitting, or other inappropriate behavior.
