Charge has started biting- how to stop?

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18 month old charge has just starting biting. I worked out today that he's biting for no reason ie not angry, upset etc although does bite then as well, most the biting is during play etc

Any ideas on how to stop it? I'm basically on my own with this as mb and db aren't bothered

Maybe it's attention seeking if he's not doing it because he's cross or thwarted in something. Bizarrely it can even be demonstrating affection. Can you try distraction first and foremost?

If, despite your efforts, he does bite another child or you, try a firm, "No! That hurts!" and put him to the other side of the room, he's too young still for an absolute 'time out' but he won't be too young to understand you are displeased and it's going to result in him being taken aside from that playmate or his toy for a moment.

Another tactic is to feign extreme distress to get him to realise it's painful and you don't find it funny. Warning: Toddlers do sometimes find adult sobs hilarious so this may not have the desired effect.

Lastly some parents swear by giving them a taste of their own medicine. As he's not your own DS I wouldn't recommend even a mock bite, (ie not enough to make a mark, just to show him it's undesirable behaviour).

I've always had 100% success, within about a one-week time frame, by responding to a bite like this:

Take him by the arms or shoulders and hold him firmly in front of you (obviously not roughly) just as you would if you needed to tell him something serious
Say in a very serious, very firm voice, "NO. BITING."
Sit him firmly on his bottom and walk away, or if he has bitten another child pick him up, move him to another room or to the side of the room, and sit him there (then walk away).

It isn't a time out, per se, but you've made it very clear that you will not be engaging with him and he will not be playing with other kids when he's biting.

'Naughty corner' worked for DS even at that age ..

Thanks. Someone told me to hold his arm against his top teeth so he can feel how much it hurts

I feel embarrassed and really bad when he bites other children when we are out. And am fed up of fighting a losing battle as parents don't care

I've always done something similar to reinette with my three. If they bite, pick them up to your level and say NO BiTE, then put themdown turn your back to them and make a big fuss of the child they bit.

It seems to take a couple of weeks to sink in.

They don't have much empathy at 18 months so the feeling sorry thing doesn't work so well.

The only way that I was able to get my 18 month charge to stop biting her baby brother was to get her to bite her own arm.

I spent weeks of saying "no biting" and leaving room with baby so she got no attention, I also made sure that as much as possible baby wasn't anywhere near her but its not possible all the time and there were a few incidents. She mostly bit the baby but did so other children if out so I was always at her shoulder. Getting her to bit herself stopped her biting others (with me) in about a week.

She was still biting at 2.5 years when with her parents and the baby would come back from weekend with bite bruises and sometimes broken skin:-(