Biting and slapping

[Caitlin]

Is my child going to be a violent psychopath?

Seriously, the biting and hitting is out of control. Yelling at him doesn't help because he laughs. :rolleyes:

I just tried rocking him to sleep and he bit the hell out of my arm. My instant reaction was to swat his hand and yell "NO!" He broke skin!


What am I doing wrong as a mom? :(

[BabyLove08]

First of all :hug: and second your not doing anything wrong as a mom!!! I think biting and slapping is a stage every toddler goes through at some point!!! Hang in there momma!!! Your doing a great job!!! :hug: :support:

[Bootysaurus]

Dylan was a biter. She bit me so hard she made my shoulder bleed and bruise. I broke her biting habit but it's probably not the method most people would like to hear :hehe: I bit her back. Not super hard, but hard enough to where she felt pain and then said, Bite, OW! OW! and she never bit again.

You're not doing anything wrong. Aidan just started this slapping thing. It takes all of me not to slap her back (reflex). Right now I'm ignoring it as when Henry makes a big deal about it, she slaps again and harder.

:hug: He'll grow out of it.

[bella_bella]

Youre a great mom! Don't think its you!

William bites to! People are always asking about my bruises! He would bite my forearm or chest neck area while cuddling! BUT I really only notice it around the time when he's teething! Could he be teething?

Also...I can't remember but is he in daycare....could one of the older kids be teaching him to hit?

[Caitlin]

I stay home with him, so I don't know where he gets it from.

He's got such a temper already. He gets frustrated and slaps the nearest thing!

I know it's probably something he'll grow out of, but I can't help but to feel sad about it when it happens.

[Heather]

He gets frustrated and slaps the nearest thing!
You hit the nail on the head, it's out of frustration. I'm sure you've heard this, but they do this because they lack the communication skills to express their feelings at this age. Just know that it's not your fault! I would just continue to reiterate that it's not acceptable and try to direct his attention to something else when he starts to get frustrated. :hugs:

[lilbunnygirl]

I stay home with him, so I don't know where he gets it from.

He's got such a temper already. He gets frustrated and slaps the nearest thing!

I know it's probably something he'll grow out of, but I can't help but to feel sad about it when it happens.

It's just instinct, he didn't learn it from anyone! Toddlers are like cavemen, they're all base instinct. They get frustrated so easily & lack the communication & reasoning skills needed to deal with that frustration so they just lash out. Cash has gotten better as he's gotten more verbal, but he still will smack at me or Sean if we're trying to thwart his desires on some front and it's infuriating, but you just have to keep reinforcing that it's not okay and know that it's an age thing not a personality trait, it will get better!

[Bootysaurus]

Aidan is sneaky :hehe: She slaps then snuggles. It is really funny but we DO NOT LAUGH! LOL!

[Meshell]

William was biting too and I have no idea where he learned it from. Just keep reiterating that it's not ok and he'll learn.

[Farah]

You're not doing anything wrong! Charlie was a total biter and bit a kid at playgroup! I was so embarrassed.

Around 14 months I decided to start time outs with him. Basically it consisted of putting him in the corner and saying "No biting!" over and over until he sat there for 15-30 seconds. Then once he figured out what time out was for it went to one minute. Now we're at 2 minutes (I read somewhere it's 1 minute per year, but I personally couldn't do that when he was so young). Very very quickly he learned that biting was bad and quit. Now he knows that time out isn't fun and if he's misbehaving I give him to the count of 5 before it's time for Time Out. Nine times out of ten he stops being bad when I get to 3 :hehe:

[Jojo]

I'm sorry :bluehug: You are definitely not a bad mom. Matt bites me too but I noticed it's when he's teething and he bites my nipple. Horrible.

When James went through this phase we just told him firmly "no biting." Eventually he stopped.

[AddiesMomma]

Addie hasn't bit yet but she did go through the slapping stage. We just ignored it and it stopped happening.

[Elaine]

Well, I hope you've figured out by all the stories here that you're not a bad mom! :hehe: :support:

Ben wasn't a biter but he was a hitter. We ignored it if it wasn't a bad hit but if it was a particularly nasty one we'd grab his wrist and tell him not to hit. Over and over and over and over. Eventually he got the hint and the hitting stopped.

It's a phase most toddlers go through and combine that with the frustration of not being able to tell people what you want or understand why you can't have or do something and they turn violent. My sister has always said that toddlers are the most violent creatures on earth. :hehe:

[lilbunnygirl]

It's funny because it's true: http://www.theonion.com/content/news/new_study_reveals_most_children

[Caitlin]

I guess I feel bad because of how irritated I get. I have to hold myself back from spanking him when he slaps me in the face. Today, for example, we were at the store and he will not sit in the cart anymore now that he knows he can walk everywhere. I let him out towards the end, but as soon as I picked him up he slapped my face. I get so pissed, but I just have to tell myself to breathe.

My raging pregnancy hormones don't help the situation either. :hehe:


Thanks for all of your support. I guess I just see so much anger in him right now and it makes me worry. :rolleyes:

[Goosey]

This has nothing to do with being a bad mom. It has to do with he is his own person with his own personality bursting through and its not melding well yet so it comes out frustrating for all concerned.

My oldest started biting me when he was 17 mths old. Every day, several times a day, same spot on my arm until he was nearly 3. I havent a clue why other than he just had something in him that forced him to do it. He wasnt frustrated except when he couldnt reach me to bite me. His frustrations came out as hitting and biting himself.

We tried anything and everything to get him to stop and it resulted in nothing but laughter from him. All I could do was take a deep breath and hold him at bay til the need passed(for that point in time anyway).

Connor and I have one of those relationships that involves butting heads all the time, its a personality thing not something I did wrong(but it took me a long time to figure that out).

You arent doing anything wrong, its a trial of patience and gathering information about your child.

[Bootysaurus]

Oh, your babies are so young and biting. Dylan was almost 3 :hehe: She was too old.