one-year old starting to bite

[Elizabeth Gray]

My 13-month-old has been doing something lately which I don't really know how to handle. It started with him, once in awhile, putting his favorite blankie in his mouth and chewing on it. I think it was when he was teething with his back teeth, and they were really bothering him. And now, when we play with the blanket and he's running around and stuff he can get pretty hyper and opens his mouth when he grabs for his blanket, like he's going to bite onto it again.

The past couple of weeks now I've noticed that once in awhile he'll act as if he's going to bite me or my husband. He's never actually done it enough to hurt - the most he's done is close his mouth on our skin but with no teeth, and then quickly pull away, or he'll just leave his mouth open and put it against our leg or arm and then run away and laugh.

I'm just scared because I know a few older kids, around 5-7 years old, who actually bite when they're mad or don't get their own way. And I don't want my son to start doing this!!!! Do you think that what he's doing right now won't lead to biting and it's just a phase he's going through where he wants to taste everything, or do you think it could lead to biting (and if so, how can I curb it early on so I don't have to deal with it later on?!?!)

Thanks in advance!!

 

[lucypevensie]

It sounds like he's just playing a little game that he finds amusing, and if he does turn this little game into biting he wouldn't be doing it maliciously--it's just a fun thing for him.

But...I'd probably put a stop to it. I know he thinks it's fun, but you're obviously concerned about this becoming a problem. I think it would be good to curb the behavior for your peace of mind and for the peace of mind of others he's doing this to.

To be honest, my opinion is a biased one. A kid in the church nursery used to walk around puting his open mouth on other kids' arms/legs/etc. We were working in there one Sunday when our own little boy started screaming hysterically. I saw that little boy pulling his mouth away from my son's arm where there was a trickle of blood running down. Now, I know the kid wasn't being mean on purpose, but I felt so bad for my son.

 

[kimber1]

I think a lot of kids go through that biting stage. Mine were never really bad about it but I know some that have gotten out of hand with it. I used to have an old babysitter who had a child there that the parent told her to bite back if their child bit another child to show him it hurt. I don't mean, bring blood or anything but to prove a point. SOme may not agree with me but I know it didnt take too many times of this and the child eventually stopped.

 

[Simcha]

I agree that you need to try and put a stop to this. Maybe you could try giving him a chewy toy that he could bite on, and whenever he "pretends" to bite you, give him the toy instead. Hopefully he'll eventually get the message that toy=good, flesh=bad!!

Children will experiment to see how far they can go, and it's never too early to teach them the limits of what is right and what is wrong.

Good luck, it sounds like your son has a great sense of humour, and is being a typical toddler