Biting

[Abbicob]

My DD has recently started to bite and it hurts.
She is 16 mths old and has all her teeth.

So far she has bitten me a few times when she has got excited and not been able to control herself (I think?).
She has run over to give me a hug and the teeth have sunk into my leg or shoulder as I have picked her up.

I have tried to ignore it however I did yelp the last time which she giggled at and she bit down harder!

At the moment it is just my husband and I that she has bitten but I would obviously like to sort this out before she bites another child/friend/grandma etc..

Any advice please?

My DS did this around the same age. If I was holding him, I would put him down say clearly "no biting" and go off to do something else rather than engage him further. That way the behaviour didn't get a "reaction" but was clearly marked as unacceptable and moving away re-inforced that.

Sometimes it did take me by surprise and once I think I really cried out (I was also heavily pregnant and feeling very sensitive). His reaction was to hug me as he realised what he'd done had hurt me.

It took a little while (a few months?) and eventually he stopped. He did only bite ME during this time, never his father or his baby sister / other kids. Somehow I think it has something to do with teething and you being the source of all comfort sometimes - maybe?

Thanks for the reply. I know all kids go through similar things but it's such a shock and nice to know it's a phase. I will try what you said and see what she does.

Thanks x

No problem. Good luck, its a testing time.