Does a 12 month old with a good set of teeth understand biting is not nice?

[herbgarden]

My ds is just about to turn 1 - he has a good set of nashers on him already - 4 upper and 4 lower and 4 molars....

He has started to bite (he did it occasionally a while ago but I think he was just testing them out).

He did it on Sunday and tried to bite my dhs knee as he was cruising round the sofa and wed just said "no" to him pulling all the papers off the sofa. Tonight he pulled himself up on the back of my legs whilst I was washing up and bit the back of my leg. It took me surprise so I screamed and then he burst into tears and got v.upset - I think I completely shocked him.

I asked nursery where he goes 2 days a week if hes ever done it to another child or anyone there but he hasnt.

Do they know what hes doing or could it be because he's teething (upper molars almost through) so is biting down for comfort. I'm so worried about it - I dont think I can bear him going round biting other children for eg.....

What do I do? Hes not daft but also still v.little.

Thanks !

I'm told he

[witchandchips]

This is really common, specially around your ds age. They want to communicate but can't as they cannot yet speak. Try teaching him to kiss as he may just want to say how much he loves you and dh

[potoroo]

Very common. It will take a while to learn that biting is not nice. Some little ones learn quickly, some (like mine) don't...

[herbgarden]

The other thing is that he's generally a very affectionate and cuddly little boy. He does need a lot of reassurance and gets upset when strangers or new people enter the room...maybe he's actually looking for comfort and its frustration ?

[JoanCrawford]

It's one of his few means of communication imo. My dd did this for a while. I was beside myself with fear everytime we went to a toddler group, as she would inevitably bite some unsuspecting soul.

She grew out of it by 18months. I now can see that it was, 'just a phase', a cliche but true.

My dd is still very affectionate and cuddly too!

[deaconblue]

Ds was a real biter from about 10 months to 13 months but hasn't done it at all for nearly two months. We put him on the floor on his own after a sharp "no" and he soon realised he got no cuddles after biting. Either that or it was just a phase and he grew out of it all on his own

[herbgarden]

Thank you - I think I need to be consistent in my approach - he was really upset earlier so I wasn't sure whether to give him a cuddle or be cross !!! I'm learning !

[deaconblue]

Mind you, as soon as you cure one thing a new one starts - ds smacked me in the face yesterday and today. Trying same method, lets hope it works

[herbgarden]

one of my friends' little boys did this to her and to me once - she dealt with it (he was just coming up to 2)- he was also a biter sometimes...she was good at dealing with that too.