As a parent, you can stop child biting by giving your child alternative means to

make taste with others, to defend herself and to express her feelings, rather than

acting out when she feels overwhelmed. This is how you begin to cultivate

emotional brain in your child.

How to Stop a Child from Biting

Take each instance of child biting behavior and use it as an opening to teach

your child that such behavior is not acceptable. For instance, if you see your child

bite someone else child, rush over and say to the child, "Ouch! That must have hurt! Are

you okay?" Your compassion for the child your child has bitten will help your

daughter start to have compassion for others and see how her behavior impacts

them. If your daughter bites to get attention, she will also learn that biting others

does not get her what she wants because at least initially, your attentiveness is focused

on the victim.

Take your daughter aside and say with a sad face, "You hurt your friend." State this

as a fact, not as an accusation. You don't want to shame or belittle her for behavior,

but you want her to start to see how her behavior hurts others.

Try to survey the need that drove your daughter's behavior. Was she tired, hungry,

scared? Was she feeling ignored by her friend? Was she angry? Tease out and do

Ask your daughter how she thinks her friend feels. (If you have ever been bitten by a

child, then you know firsthand how shocking this can be. When my eldest son was

14 months old, he had a modeling job with someone else child. Before the photographer

took the photos, he offered the toddlers something to eat. Being the sweet child my

son was, rather than take something first for himself, he offered the girl a cracker

and as he fed it to her, she bit him hard. He was admittedly stunned and cried like it

was the end of the world and in that moment, it was because in replacement for his

kindness and generosity, he got violence.) If your daughter can't recognize her

feelings yet (which is general at this age), help her out. Offer feeling words like sad,

scared or angry. Next, ask her what she can do to help her friend feel better. Maybe

she can give her a hug (if the child will let her), say she's sorry or offer to share one

of her toys.

Take each instance of child biting behavior and use it as an opening to

teach.

Since your daughter seems to have difficulty sharing, teach her how by role playing.

Buy her a new, uncostly toy and show her how two citizen can share the same

item by taking turns. Make your turn first. If she tries to grab the toy, tell her that

she must wait until her turn or you cannot share the toy with her. After she's had

her turn, recommend that next time she plays with a friend, she can share and wait

when it's not her turn. If she wants to use something the other child has, she can

offer to share something of hers. Of course, it is up to the other child to resolve if

sharing will occur. When she plays with other children, all the time make sure she has

something to share.

After all is said and done, ask your child how she feels about development things best

with her friend. If she can't reply and at 14 months, she probably won't be able to,

emphasize how good it feels to make man feel best when you have hurt

them.

Again, your child will not understand most of this, but start the process of

compassion-building now. By responding swiftly and compassionately, teasing out

the need that drove the behavior and helping your child take accountability for

making amends, the biting behavior will cease.