Biting is a common habit found in toddlers. As the toddlers are too young to express their emotions in the right way, so they use these signalling techniques to vent out. So, in order to make them avoid this habit, you will have to understand the reasons that are making your child behave in this specific way. But analysing the behaviour of your child and helping him/her to get out of this situation is a continuous process and requires time. Thus, in order to provide you with a quick remedy to the biting problem of your toddler, we are presenting some tips in this article.
Tips to stop the child from biting
Below are some of the tips that you can consider to stop your child from biting:
1. Use “distraction” as a technique
If your child is trying to get a hold of your skin, try distracting him/her with other things. Giving your toddler a toy or a colourful book can be an effective solution. Such things would drive their attention away, and they would forget biting for the moment. Using this technique always might reduce their habit of biting as well, but you will have to be patient for that.
2. Avoid scolding or punishment
If you are thinking that scolding off your child on this particular act would limit his/her habit, then you are wrong. The more you will be aggressive with him/her; the more would be the chances of reacting back. So, do not use scolding or punishments as a way to restrict this bad habit of your child.
3. Try to communicate effectively
As discussed earlier, biting can be due to some specific emotion or need, which is often not expressed by the toddlers in words. So, communicating with the child properly can help you understand the need, and you can suggest the solutions to that need accordingly. For example, if your child is biting because of stingy feeling in the mouth, then providing a teether could be helpful.
4. Telling stories about biting could be helpful
You can find a number of stories about teething and biting relevant to the age of your child. Reading these stories to them or narrating them at the bedtime could be another solution that you might want to try. It is not necessary to look for the formal stories; you can use your own imagination and create one of your own, including the specific habits that your child has. This will help your child in differentiating between the wrong and the right behavior.
You can use these techniques to reduce the habit of biting in your child. But these are only the secondary measures, try to focus on the primary issue and resolve it to get a long-term solution for this problem. If the above suggestions do not work, please consider seeking advice from a health professional.