Toddler biting at nursery.

[Meralia]

My 17 month old DS bit another child today on the shoulder at nursery. My husband had to sign an incident report about it. He bit the other child unprovoked. I feel really terrible about it, as I can imagine the parents of the other child are upset.

He has bitten me a few times and I firmly tell him no. Not sure what else to do? My older children are teenagers, but they were never biters.

I’m just worried now that he’s going to keep on biting at nursery. He does have a bit of a temper and has some whoppers of tantrums, throwing himself on the floor, head banging, and he sometimes pulls my hair and grabs my face. He’s always been really well behaved at nursery until today.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Or any advice?

hes 17m!! i wouldnt worry. my dd is 18m old and not a biter but she does hit. his still a baby im sure the other parents understand.

Mines does on occasion, we read (and nursery too) teeth are not for biting. It really does work. It’s not an unusual thing, I just keep reading the book and DS hasn’t had a bite out of anyone for a while 🤞🏻

It's a normal phase and lots of kids of this age are biters, it's nothing you did or didn't do and is no reflection on how you're parenting him. The main thing is to be consistent in how you deal with it - a firm but calm "no biting" followed by whatever action you choose (e.g., if you're holding him, put him down), and then move on with whatever the two of you were doing beforehand. Alongside consistency try to be aware of his triggers, for example if he's doing it when he's tired then try pre-empt it by removing him from the situation when he starts showing signs of tiredness.

Don't worry about the other parents and what they think, if they're at all reasonable they'll know that these things happen and now nursery are aware he may bite they should be keeping an eye on him in group situations.

Mine avoided the biting stage (through pure luck not any genius parenting on my part) but were occasionally on the receiving end. At that age you just accept the kids are little and it's a totally normal stage. Even though they didn't bite my DC's both went through their own stages where they didn't cover themselves in glory. At 17 months old they have very little self control. It'll come with time.

Oh gosh, please don't worry about this at all! He's still so little and it won't be an act of 'aggression', just either sensory seeking, excitement, curiosity or a mixture of all 3. My daughter did the same at about 2 years, I was absolutely mortified, especially about having to sign something, but she never did it again and in retrospect I MASSIVELY overreacted (including considering writing an apologetic letter to the other parent ). When I mentioned that idea to the nursery staff they actually laughed...

My son did this about that age, never bit another kid but bit me, dh and childminder hard enough to leave marks. I found it always coincided with teeth coming through and sometimes he would get so frustrated he would bite himself. He's nearly 2 now and his language skills improving and consistently telling him 'no biting' mean he doesn't do it anymore. I understand why you're upset though. The first time ds bit I was gobsmacked.

Thank you for the replies. I was just really shocked! I’m going to be terrified when he’s at nursery now that he’ll be biting other children.

I’ve ordered the teeth are not for biting book off amazon, thanks for that.