14 month old banging head on floor, me, etc, and biting

[taraknyc]

Is this a normal stage? My 14 month old is an extremely physical baby- she has been crawling since 6 months and walking since 10 months. She is very outspoken, just with no words that we can really understand. She is very confident and affectionate and strong. That said, she has started biting her brother (4 years old), me and whoever might get in the way of what she wants. I know she is probably frustrated by not having words we understand, but biting is not okay with me. She has also started banging her head on the floor or me. Usually it goes hand in hand with a tantrum that starts from her not getting what she wants. I am afraid she will hurt herself.

Does anyone have any ideas on curbing these behaviors? Someone suggested the signing time dvds- any experience with them out there? I usually just ride out the tantrums, saying I am here if she needs me and putting her on my bed where she can't hurt herself. We have also tried giving her a 'biting toy'. Not sure if she knows what it is.

Thank so much for any advice.

Tara

[kcparker]

Our DS is a head-banger and hitter too. We try to redirect the hitting to high-fives, or take his hands and kiss them instead. You could do the same with the biting, giving her a toy to bite, even getting in on the toy-biting action yourself (it may disarm her and make her start laughing if you are acting like a pit-bull and shaking the toy in your teeth). We ask him to show us gentle touching, and you could ask her to show you a kiss instead of a bite.

I think having a sign for something like "I'm angry" could help if she's feeling upset. DS is old enough now that we are working with him on saying, "I'm frustrated," or "I'm disappointed" when he starts moving towards banging his head or hitting a wall with his hands, but signing was a huge boon for us before he could talk. You can just go on this site to learn some signs (I want, angry, please, help, nurse, etc., whatever you think will allow her to communicate more effectively) and then teach them to DD or watch with her - no need for DVDs.