Your little one is growing so fast, right before your eyes….Ah yes…those years of realization and exploration. They are adventurous. They are risk takers. They are fearless. They are our toddlers! We love them to pieces! So cute and precious. Look at those big innocent eyes. Those precious, little rounded cheeks. They can do no wrong. You could never get upset at such cuteness and….”OUCH! My child bit me!”
Who knew those little teeth could inflict so much pain?! You begin to wonder where things went wrong. You question yourself as a parent and wonder if your child hates you. How could your little one have committed such an act? Do not fret fellow parents! Toddlers and their biting behavior is nothing new.
- Image by maria clara de melo via Flickr
First, forgive the little one. No matter how vicious the biting behavior of a toddler may seem, there is not a malicious bone in their body. Biting behavior needs to be dealt with just like all other aggressive behaviors that toddlers often display. It is a matter of discipline. It’s not an issue of weather or not the child is bad. It is not due to bad parenting. Children bite due to a number of reasons. They might bite to gain attention, release emotions of frustration or fear, to soothe gums during teething, to experiment, or to taste something…or someone!
Children use their mouths as a major way to explore the world. They put their mouths on anything they can touch. Sometimes a child wants to know what will happen if they bite someone. They might wonder to themselves, “Will this hurt daddy?” If the child is exploring, it will usually only take one incident for them to learn from a persons reaction that, “Yes! It does hurt!” If this is the case, then you may only need to confirm to the child that they hurt the person, that it was wrong, and should not be done again. Let them know that there will be consequences if it happens again. Supervise your child for a time after the incident, to make sure that they do not repeat their actions.
I’ll continue with more info on biting behavior in my next post. Visit our website @ http://www.goddardschool.com//Schools/Cedar-Park-TX/Schools.gspx & follow us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/GoddardSchoolCP
