Biting

[Longfufu]

Hi, can anyone help?

My neighbours DD aged 2 years is going through a phase of aggressive behaviour towards her parents and other children. She bites, pinches, and pulls clothing and hair. It happens generally when toys are involved I think.

The parents are very placid people and have tried everything to stop this , time out, explaining why its not acceptable, talked to her before going to toddler groups and explaining that if she bites etc she Will be going home, they have a teddy that they said she can bite instead of people , a children's book which explains what teeth are for.

She is well cared for, plenty of love and affection. Our children play together and my son adores her as do I. Needless to say my friend is finding this very upsetting.

Any advise?.

Sadly, not a lot you can do as it's pretty normal developmental behaviour for some children. My ds1 was a biter and it was an awful stage .. I was one step behind him all the time, very anti-social His nursery were great and reassured me it was a phase. She sounds frustrated and because of her lack of communication skills, this is how it can manifest. Obviously, the right thing to do is be firm with her and remove her from the situation. Other than that, just gotta ride this one out i'm afraid.

how is her speech? biting etc can be a sign that she's very frustrated and can't communicate verbally

she's 2, a lot of the explanation might be well over her head, so not sure what else can be done, she is very young.

my 3 year old bites occasionally and as well as saying "no", No biting" "it hurts" very firmly (or shouting sometimes I admit) I tap his lips with 2 fingers - so he has a bit of pain where he caused the pain, if that makes sense.
(he is not beaten up or abused, no need to get judgey about this)

it works and he stops for a while, then tries again days or weeks later.

Possibly there are better solutions, I don't know any.
we do talk about it also, of course, but at this age they are forgetful, so a physical reminder seems more effective.

I also want to know what better ways there are, so I will welcome ideas too!

Thanks for the replies.

It does seem like she's very frustrated and although she can talk by saying singular words I don't think she's getting across what she wants to say.

I'd welcome any more advise.