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Ds, 3, biting-any ideas?

2 replies

Familydilemma · 02/11/2011 10:26

Ds is usually the most placid lovely little boy. But then will sometimes deal with conflict by biting. His language has really been improving and the incidents of biting getting less frequent. I have always been close to him when playing so I could help him manage conflict to avoid getting to that level of frustration or at least pulling him away. And when he has bitten I have removed him from the play, said firmly biting hurts and is wrong and then made him apologise. Or if the other child not keen to be near him, apologised profusely to the other parent. We've recently had a baby-four months old and it's got worse again. Partly because my attention is more divided and I guess because he's had change. I'm after new ways to proceed because it's not good for him or fair for other children. Will this pass? Am I doing the right things to stop it happening? Help!

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edukation · 02/11/2011 10:35

Have you tried rewarding him for not biting? You need him to decide for himself that there are better ways of resolving a conflict than biting so there is no point in him continuing to do it. So give him an alternative (i.e. if there is a conflict tell you or walk away or whatever behaviour it is you decide you want from him) and if he does it then give him masses of praise and attention (which will be very welcome if he has a new little sibling) and possibly a little reward (like a sticker) building up to a big one if he does it consistently for a week etc. Not an expert but I have found focusing on what you want rather than finding new deterrents for what you don't want works better.

Familydilemma · 02/11/2011 10:40

Weirdly-I hadn't! I say weirdly because positive praise is my philosophy for things I want to encourage. I guess I hadn't thought of rewarding good conflict handling-obvious and I think I'll try it!

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