I’m hoping some of you will have ideas for this mom who is dealing with a problem and has tried everything she can think of and nothing has worked. Here is what she asked:
“How do you deal with/correct biting?”
(Details: 3 year old boy, possible Sensory Processing Disorder, large vocabulary for age, biting daycare teacher and can’t explain why he’s doing it)
I didn’t have many ideas because, though my youngest with Autism and SPD did bite, we never figured out how to get him to stop and thankfully he just kind of “outgrew” it as his vocabulary increased.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions! :)
My son use to bite and the reason was because he lacked the ability to talk and express himself verbally. Kids who are delayed speakers, will often resort to physical harm in order to help express what they are feeling. This is often the case with toddlers. What we did was asked him to “use his words” by showing us what he wanted and modeled that for him by showing him how to ask or express in 3 words or less. Kids under 3 have a hard time understand anything more in 3-5 word sentences. The more violent the parent gets about correcting the behavior, the more violence they will give back (biting more, pinching). We were able to resolve the issue within 3 months by:
Putting him the corner every time he bite
Explaining, “Biting hurts, ouchie” Then “No more biting”
Showing him how to play nice, if he wanted a toy another kid was playing with and he took it out of his hands, I would say,:
“He was playing with the toy first. If you want it, you have to ask: May I play please?” He would repeat, “Play please” if the child said no, I would say, “That is ok, he wants to continue playing with it, there are other toys to play with, when he is all done, you can play with it.” Or if the child said yes, I would say, “Thank you (child’s name) for letting (my child’s name) play with you and sharing. I would direct my son to say, “Thank you” to the child and coach them to play nicely together.
Helping kids to use their words and help them express themselves is one way I learned and continue to learn that teaching them communication is key.
I would have to ask what is going on before he bites her and what does she do after. it could be that he likes the surprised look on her face after he bites her. Obviously he’ll need to stop so let me tell u a little story. I had a 3 yr old son that was a biter but he didn’t have sensory issues. I tried everything to get him to stop. Then 1 day he bit my mom and she bit him hard enough so that he cried. (sounds cruel I know.) but she didn’t draw blood and he cried. She said , “Did that hurt?” he shook his head yes. and she said see you hurt Nanee too. and he hugged her. Kissed her boo boo and he never bit anyone again. I’m not sure what stops kids from biting but u have to try different things.
Get down to his eye level. Be firm. Say NO Biting! Then make him repeat the words. Tell him to use his words. Ask him what he needs. If he has a tooth that is coming in perhaps biting on something makes him feel better so you can also offer him a Popsicle or something else of that nature to bite down on. Good luck. if he’s only biting the teacher and no one else u need to investigate way