12 month old biting etc

[Lemonadde]

My 12 month old DD has always given lovely big sloppy kisses, which I love. She's recently started adding teeth and biting! I've said no but she doesn't understand that it hurts. She keeps doing it.

Also, as she's getting more independent she is quite a lovely toddler and I'm trying to teach her to be gentle with things like touching mummy's face, giving objects to people. She tore out a few flaps in her book this week which I found sad as I want her to respect books, but I don't know if this is normal 12 month old behaviour? None if it's done in anger by the way, just enthusiasm.

Can’t offer any advice as my13.5 month old DD is exactly the same. She recently started kicking me when changing her nappy and whenever I said no, she’d think it’s funny and carry on so I tried ignoring it instead and she stopped.

I’m assuming it’s normal 🙈

From my experience and it seems to be the only universal solution; keep persisting in reinforcing things you don’t approve or could be dangerous/hurt et al. However, it is unequivocally just one of those things parents can’t really control, no matter what we try. they will eventually over time grow out of it, and it’s only that that really puts a stop to these little behaviours. I have tried things like; a stern no, ignoring the things the child knew to get a reaction, using calm words, all of which has varying results at an given time. My son (now 20mo) went months of hitting our cat too hard, (when trying to teach petting) and pulling his tail, I tried all the above, and other things like purposely hugging the cat and showing him attention after he had done it, but our desire to want to teach, will never trump their desire to want to do, and try the things that get reactions from parents. Sometimes what we do works and more often they don’t, they will over time just get bored and grow out of it. They then of course replace it with some other thing you have to run around telling them no to 😂 . Also and this was tricky to get my head around to some extent at first, but as parents we just have to accept kids will just do whatever they want, and sometimes it will mean things like tearing their favourite book to pieces, (my son also did this) snapping my guitar string was a personal favourite, than there’s everything else from, staining their sentimental clothes, eating everything, biting parents, the list probably goes on an on, 😂

P.a. It’s definitely normal, but because no 2 children are ever the there probably isn’t a ‘normal’ you can measure a child by anyway. I thought for ages my son hadn’t started speaking early enough, than all of a sudden he can learn a new word a day out of nowhere. None of what books, other parents, my family, dr’s etc have said about my child, matches, apart from weight and growth, the learning and behaviour can happen at any time early late or whatever.

Re: the biting, my 13 mo DS is identical. Has always been a very mouthy baby and has recently added in teeth. If he bites, he gets put down (so he physically can’t do it) and we firmly say ‘no, that hurts, we don’t bite’. Obviously he has no idea and thinks it’s all a game, but as PP has said it’s all about continuous reinforcement at that age.