Biting! Lots and lots of biting in a 16 month-old, and she just laughs when we get cross.

[MrsTittleMouse]

Has anyone tackled this successfully? Do we have any hope except that she'll grow out of it?
DD is very keen on biting us (not other children, thankfully) and when we get cross, she thinks it's a game. We only get cross for serious things (electric sockets etc.) so it's pretty rare, and we put on really stern faces. I was actually worried at the start that she would be really scared. I needn't have been worried.

Is 16 months too young to explain properly? Are there any sanctions that we can use? She seems so young for punishment, but if something like the naughty step would work, I would be happy to put in the effort.

Thank you!

My dd1 did this at the same age, once so hard she made me cry, I was a little bit sleep deprived on the edge, but it hurt! I took lots of advice from friends and it seems most people find it is a phase they grow out of. We went for the firm 'no' then putting her down and time out approach, ie no attention. I think cross faces often seem funny at this age. In the end she stopped but not sure if she would have done anyway. I was just thankful she was biting me not other kids. Good luck.

Think your doing exactly the right, tell her no and ignore for a little while. For what its worth lots of children laugh when they get told off, especially this little, i've been told its an attempt to make you smile back and win over your affections so to speak, so not laughing because they think its funny.

Ds did this from about 16 months, and now a full year later it has more or less stopped.(touch wood!)

It came and went in phases and he did bite other children at the cm more than us adults. I think it stems from frustration - he knows it gets an immediate response from another child when he can't verbally express his displeasure.

Ignore the biter, praise/cuddle bitten child/ Time out when she is a bit older perhaps.

We do timeout for ds, and he understands it perfectly and I think that has really helped, as, like I said, he is much better now.

Yip. Had exactly the same thing. We were consistent and he laughed. REALLY annoying. Kept reminding myself that very few teenagers still bite their parents so I knew it would pass! It will pass. Don't break your way of dealing with it.

I remember thinking that bl**dy super nanny seems to solve everything in 2 days. Maybe they give up on filming the families where she takes weeks to achieve it. :-)

It's really hard, had same thing for about a month with DS - it is only a phase as everyone will tell you, but very very distressing at the same time. I found it worse when he bit other children rather than me, but remember being upset by both. WHat worked for us was a really firm 'no, you do not bite mummy, it hurts' then put them down and ignore them for a few mins. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat. Each time it happens - same tone of voice, same words, same expression on your face. I promise the message will get through. Time out, naughty step etc are not appropriate for a 16 month old.

My darling daughter did this at just over 2 years of age. I was nearly at my wits end as it lasted weeks and weeks. I was told all sorts of things to try (even biting her back which I didn't have to resort to). I agree with you Joliegirl - just keep repeating No and ignore the child. She brought tears to my eyes when she unexpectedly bit my bum. The phase did pass though (but not before she bit another child and her younger sister). For a while she used to look at me and open her mouth to threaten me (monster) but again this passed. Just stay strong and know you are not alone!

Thank you everyone!
Looks as though this is just something we'll have to work though and there are no magic bullets.

We altered the action and would tell DD#2 no biting but you can tickle instead. She would pretend to tickle us and we would make a huge point of laughing to encourage her. She soon stopped biting us as tickling was far more fun.

That's a great idea upsidaisie - wish I'd thought of that one! I'll defo remember for DD#2.