Anyone know how to make a 10 month old baby stop biting.

[saramyra]

I say no bite and he continues to bite. I have to pick him up and move him away from me and he gets upset. But rest assured he will bite again when he feels like it. I do not think he bites out of frustration, he is being playful I think, but really chomps down on me leaving bruises. I do not think he is teething. He has 5 teeth now and if he is teething, it nevers stops. He has not pulled on his ears in a while which was the only real sign he is teething, he sometimes gets fussy but I am not always able to tell if he is bothered by his teeth or if it something else. Yesterday he really hurt me and I could have cried; which I will try today when he attacks me. 

Sometimes I wonder if he is kissing me, but I know he isn't. Although at bathtime I pick up his a toy animal and kiss it (saying"muah") and tell him "now give the monkey kisses". He opens his mouth wide and practically puts the head in his mouth and evetually bites down. So now I am afraid he may associate kissing with biting. When I ask for a kiss he eventually uses his teeth a little but not like he does when he chomps down on my leg. He also bites down on my pant leg only and pulls the fabric away making a grunting sound. 

I have read other forums and feel like I need direct reponse from moms. If anyone can help me that would be awesome. I am to the point where I may bite back but I know he is too young. Would a time out really work at this age? I fear he will bite someone else and even a baby from his playdate group. 

Thanks for your advice! 

(Sorry for the long post.)

Happy New Year :)

Sara 

[BabySmurf]

I would try to stick with something consistent.  Also, it does sound like there is a little bit of confusion on his end, so maybe try focusing on the positive instead of the negative...."we kiss like this" and demonstrate.  If he uses his teeth, maybe try to connect that action with a specific reaction, like "oh, you are using your teeth, you must be teething, hungry, etc" and give him something that is appropriate to bite.  This way it separates the kissing from the biting. 

When DS bite me one or two times while nursing, I would say "ouch! no teeth!" and unlatch him and put him down.  The first time he was confused and he was upset, so I immediately picked him back up and allowed him to nurse again.  The next time he did it, it clicked.  He would get upset after that, but it was clearly more of an issue with frustration, and that's when I thought to give him an appropriate replacement object (a teething toy). 

I think it's really important to figure out the source of the behavior and address that.  To teach DS "ouch" and "that hurts" I would make comments after he fell down..."oh, did you HURT your knee when you fell?" and that way he learned what ouch and hurt meant without me having to exert pain on him, kwim? I know how desperate and frustrating it can be when you can't figure out how to communicate something important...but he probably doesn't at all realize what the problem is.

Oh, and I would try not to have a big reaction because that reaction in and of itself can be amusing to kids, and he could act out because he likes the drama/attention of it.  Which isn't him manipulating you, rather him really just not understanding the situation and liking attention.

[jgallagher66]

I agree with all Babysmurf said and just wanted to add that biting your baby is not a good idea. You need to demonstrate how he should behave not act like a baby yourself. That would just hurt and confuse him. A firm no and a brief period of withdrawing your attention will be much more effective. These phases are usually very brief especially if you are patient but consistent.

[sageowl]

I personally think the biting is kind of a phase babies go through when they're teething (vaguely from 4 mos-about 18 mos, but real bad right around the age you're dealing with) because it always seemed like DS was bite-y during his prime time teething episodes, but the problem gradually faded, and I don't remember doing anything particularly elaborate to make him lose interest. 

When I got bit while I was nursing, I'd just pull him off, and say "ouch!  don't bite mama", and try again later when he was calm.  I don't remember having to do it more than a few times.  If he bit me while playing, I'd just put him down and say something like "no biting mama" or "not nice" and hand him something he liked to chew on and say "if you need to bite, use this".

I doubt I was doing anything terribly brilliant, I think he just stopped when the urge went away.  That seemed to coincide with a long break in the teething action.

Just wait 'til you get to the "oh so fun" hitting and throwing stage.
 

[saramyra]

Thanks for the advice. He has not "attacked" me lately but a bite here or there. I do take him off the breast; most times he is finished. Other times he gets a little upset and wants to nurse so I put him back on and he does not bite. When he does bite my leg (lately he has only bit my pant leg) I take him off my leg and set him down a foot away from me and say ouch, we don't bite. I have given him a teether but he only uses it for a few minutes and then starts playing with other toys. I also have distracted him with his toys and play with him. I now think he bites out of frustration mostly.

PS: I probably wouldn't bite back. But he did hurt me really bad a few times (I have bruises), the thought came across my mind.

Thanks again I will try to incorporate your suggestions.

Sara