| B |
E AWARE of your child’s biting signals. Notice what usually happens right before the child bites. Children bite because they are frustrated and act on their feelings rather than use their words to tell you what they want or don’t want. Try to correct the situation before the child feels the need to bite. Physically stop a child about to bite by moving them away from the other child. |
| I |
IMITATION can cause a child to bite. Some children copy kissing and bite instead. Some children have been bitten and see other children bite and copy that behavior to see what will happen. NEVER bite a child back or make another child bite them back. This is confusing to children and teaches them that biting is something OK to do. Beware saying to children ”you are so sweet I could just eat you up...” This is also confusing to children. |
| T |
TEACH children that “food is for biting, people are not for biting”. Teach other children to say “No” in a loud voice if they think they are about to be bit. |
| I |
INVESTIGATE the situation and see what is stressing the children and causing the biting. Crowding, too much noise and activity, too many things that have to be shared all can cause aggressive behavior and biting. |
| N |
NOTHNG lasts forever. All young children go through this tough time. This will pass, especially when children learn to talk and use words to tell people what they want and don’t want. Biting usually slows down when children learn to talk. Teaching toddlers sign language helps some children’s frustration. |
| G |
GIVE children words to say. Such as “I want that.... “. Teach them way to tell another child” No” or “Stop”. Teach children simple sign language. |
