How do you stop a toddler from biting people?

[katerinasmom]

DD2 is almost 16 months and is a late teether. She got her first tooth at 14 months and didn't get her second until 15 months followed by her 3rd and 4th last week. She is fascinated by the new stuff in her mouth and constantly grinds her teeth and more recently has started biting people - hard.
She has bitten me and left marks that took a whole day to disappear. That bite was for fun. She bit DD1 twice - once on the stomach and broke skin and once on the arm. I have no doubt that the stomach bite was provoked as DD1 said that she was petting DD2 like a dog and trying to get her to sit still which DD2 fights against with significant spirit. She has bitten her grandmother, her father, etc. If she bites my dad I'm sure he'll bite her back as he has repeatedly told us that was his method for getting my sister to stop biting. But that seems harsh to me and in my opinion unlikely to stop her. She doesn't seem to learn through negatives. For example, she constantly opens the oven door. One time she opened it while it was on (I turned around for exactly one second and the little elf had snuck in behind me) and got a blast of hot air that may have hurt her but definitely scared her as she started screaming. (I couldn't find any burn marks so I don't think she actually got a tactile burn.) I thought that would be enough to stop her from opening the oven again but no - next day, she's got the oven open and is trying to pull the gasket off. (I've since bought an oven lock.) So how do I get her to stop biting? Any advice would be appreciated.

Edited to correct spelling.

[MamaKath]

First I would try to figure out if there is any other pattern. Is she overstimulated, defensive? Hungry, angry, lonely, etc.? I would decide on an action when she does it. Like a firm "No! That hurts!" I would then make a big deal about the person injured. Then I would find something else for her to do. Be consistant with whatever you decide on so it does not become a test of whatever your method is.

I ran a quick search for biting toddlers and came up with a couple links, similar info...
http://pediatrics.about.com/od/biting/Stopping_Toddler_Biting_Behaviors.htm (http://pediatrics.about.com/od/biting/Stopping_Toddler_Biting_Behaviors.htm)
http://childcare.about.com/cs/behaviors/f/biting.htm
http://childcare.about.com/od/behaviors/a/stopbitingtips.htm?terms=biting

[m448]

she seems to be biting for two reasons - one because she's feeling pain from the teething and two because she's verbally immature and it's her big "no!" right now when people don't understand her.

So address those two issues but giving her a great nubby teething toy. Give her many textures throughout the day including crunchy, dry toast, and anything that she can get relief for her teething pain. Teething tablets are also great and can be given whenever they have pain since it's almost impossible to OD on those.

For the second issue concentrate on teaching her signs to help express herself until clear words come in. Stay close and observe her interactions with her older sister and narrate her behavior to big sis, "see your little sister? She's pushing up against you petting her. She's saying, 'I don't like that'. Let's stop so she doesn't try to bite. Let's listen to her 'no!'"" Encourage adults to take her "no!" seriously as well so they don't frustrate her needlessly. Also until she matures past this stage you'll need to shadow her among company like your dad, other kids or anywhere there's other people. That way you watch for her "biting signs" and intercept before she is successful. If despite all this she bites, check out the other person is okay. Quickly scoop your daughter up saying, "no biting. Biting hurts" and then give her a chance to apologize or give a "pat pat" as a form of making amends.

[elizabethkott]

J had a serious biting problem as well. Once he was able to connect the concept of "boo-boo" (he went through a band-aid obsession phase!) with us saying, "No biting! Boo-boo! Ouch!" and fake crying, his biting began to stop. He gets so upset when someone else "cries" that he starts crying, and immediately gives a hug to make amends. :)
Good Luck! It's rough, but there will be an end to it!

[Melaine]

We had a biting incident this morning. It was the first we'd had in a loooong while, and I remembered that I had forgotten to put the girls' amber necklaces on after their bath last night.
I am a huge fan of the amber necklaces if you think your LO is having any kind of teething pain. Obviously, you have to correct the misbehavior as well, but I still think it's worth buying a necklace to see if it helps.

[katerinasmom]

Thank you. I will try all of your suggestions. I'm sure some of the problem is related to her inability to verbally express herself. We did not have this problem with DD1 who was able to verbalize her needs/wants very clearly very early on. DD1 seems is much slower to talk and only says a few words yet. Whereas by this age, DD2 had a very large clear vocabulary and could easily get her point across.

[katerinasmom]

What is an amber necklace?

[m448]

believe me you've got no condemnation from me. Some kids are biters and others are not. My oldest was, my second was not. Having a biter means playdates are spent rightnexttoyourkid instead of talking to mommy friends at playdates. It means people think you're a hovering mom when it's really that you know your child and they need this right now. Thankfully with consistent parenting and time they mature out of it. It's getting through it that is tough.

[vonfirmath]

Ugh. Our 16-month old is a biter.
LUCKILY, he only bites his dad and I so far.