Biting problem

I have 14-month-old twin boys. One of them keeps biting the other one and we have not been able to figure out an effective way to stop him from biting. He is not biting out of frustration or anger (such as competing for a toy, etc.). He just bites out of the blue when you least expect it. They can be quietly playing together or close to each other and all of a sudden he will just lean over and bite his brother. Other times they can be playing in separate areas and he will just walk over and bite him. We are keeping a watchful eye on them but cannot be sitting right next to them at all times. If you have experienced this with your child, how did you handle it? Where you able to get them to stop or did you just have to ride it out until they got over it on their own?

my nephew use to do thos all the time to my son and we would smakc his bottom lightly of course and tell him to stop (when nothng else seemed to work)--well that did not work either. so we had my son lightly bite hi back (but my son was 4 years older and knew to do it lightly) since yours are twins i suggest you lightly bite him so he knows it hurts and tell him -- now see your brother hurts when you do tyhat to him -- so do not do that to him again. maybe one time will cure it if not do it a little harder next time. now do not get me wrong i am not suggesting biting the kid hard just hard enough where he knows it hurts.this is truely the only way we cured my nephew. jhe bit my son 11 times one day and each time got the light swat on the bottom and did it a few seconds again--so we had to do something else.
also my youngest one use to do it to me. i would be cookin g and he'd come up behind me and hug my leg and bite the crap our of my leg.the sawtting his behind did n ot work either.but once i lightly bit him back--he cried and i said see when you do that tyo mommy it hurts her too and he NEVER did it again.

That is a common age for kids to become biters. Is he teething? maybe getting those pre-molars? Some kids have very little pain with teething, just an urge to chew or bite. My son had a teething blanket with rubber corners that he loved to chew at that age. Maybe redirect him to something like that, or even a teething ring. Firmly tell him "no biting" whenever he does it, and offer the other item for him to chew. There is also a book called "Teeth are not for biting" geared toward showing kids that, well, teeth are not for biting. That might help.

My SIL's little girl was a biter, until one day... Mom bit her back. She never bit again. I would definitely tell brother to bite back.

I have 4 year old twins, and my son had a short-lived problem with biting. I finally bit him back one day, and never had a problem again. It seems harsh, but once they understand that it hurts, I guess it makes them think twice.

First, I'd like to say how disgusted I am at all of the moms who think it's a good idea to bite a child back or encourage other children to bite them back. It worked when they did it? So what-- the end doesn't justify the means. I think that's horrible advice. My sister took that advice from someone and bit her daughter -- then she (my sister!) cried because she realized what an awful thing she did to her daughter. Adults are supposed to set examples for children and guide them, not teach them by supposedly showing them "how it feels" -- especially since he is not doing it in anger. If a toddler colored on the wall, would you grab a marker and color on his favorite toys and say, "See- how do you like it when I color on YOUR stuff?" Same principle applies here. You do not lower yourself to the level of the toddler, you should be rising them up.

If you are sure he is not doing it out of anger or frustration, then you should look into if he has a problem with his ears. Sounds odd, I know. But to releave ear pressure, biting down helps a lot. I know a boy who bit down on his own hand and it took years before his parents and pediatrician figured out he had fluid in his ears and it releaved the pressure. In the meantime, try teaching your boys a few signs. I know you say he is not frustrated, but he still may be using it as a way to communicate with his brother. Though your biting son is not frustrated or angry, he is obviously aware that he gets his brother's attention (I assume your other son screams bloody murder when he gets bit!)

Hi Debbie,
Children biting is very normal, just like pushing, or whining
At 14 months old, your children know what the word "no" means and they have the capability to remember. You simply have to be consistent with this just like anything else. When he bites, calmly say, "no we don't bite" and give him a little spank with a ruler or wooden spoon or something similar. Just enough to give a little ouch. Each time he bites, calmly say, "no we don't bite" and give the spank. He WILL associate the bite with the word "no" and the spank and will decide he doesn't like that outcome and will stop biting. you just have to be consistent. Trust me I understand, I have a 14 month old daughter and a 30 month old son!! But through consistence and the Grace of God, we get through it with happy loving children.

I did not have twins but my son around the same age as your son would bite his older sister and I. Sometimes he would leave marks on us and as you said he did not seem to do it out of anger. I first noticed that I had a bad habit of nibbling my little one in which I think provoked him to think biting was a way to get attention or show affection. He has no idea how much it hurt. Good news is he will grow out of it no matter what you end up doing. Bad news is if you put him in daycare he will bite the other kids.

Solution: (for our home)
I would tell him he hurt his sister and make him look at the mark he left on her. I demanded that he say he is sorry and give her a kiss. It did not stop the behavior but did make him realize that it was not nice. I then started putting him in timeout for less then a minute. After the time outs started he quickly refrained from biting. Just remember to give him a hug and kiss after time out and remind him that even though he was wrong, you still love him.

My daughter was a biter. She learned this from a child in daycare where they shared the same playpen. To make a long story short, she bit me one day and she was just mad at me. I returned the bite to see what would happen, their little teeth are sharp. She quit biting altogether. She was'n t impressed that she got bit back but by mommie. You may or may not agree but from my experience it worked big time. I didnt bit her hard just hard enough for her to know that it not right to do this. She has now done the same with her 3 children, I only had the problem with one, but they are learning quickly. Good luck to "no more biting" and hopefully it will stop now that you have administrated it.