Biting is no joke. As a parent, you can feel at a loss when your toddler is biting. I’ve worked with many kids who have struggled with it. Here’s the advice I share with them:
Consistency in Your Response
When your child is biting, consistent redirection is key to breaking the habit. Here are two lines I’d suggest trying. Both are redirections to a chew toy - I highly recommend this one
- “Your teeth are sharp and that hurts. Try this instead if you’re frustrated”
- “Please bite this instead”
If possible, try to limit your response. Obviously, biting hurts and our natural response is to freak out (I know I have!). Keeping calm can help limit the instances, especially if your toddler is biting for attention. After redirecting your child and seeing them making a good choice (ie, using a chewy toy and playing calmly), offer positive reinforcement. See my blog post about reinforcement for more help!
Try a Sensory Diet
To support your child's oral-seeking sensory behavior, provide them crunchy snacks at all meals (ie, chips, veggie straws, carrots, apples). You could also try a CamelBak kids water bottle which enables resistive sucking every time you drink from it, which will provide your child the oral sensory input they’re looking for.
Role model
Many times biting happens due to a lack of language. Your child is still developing the words to express their frustration. When they can’t express how they’re feeling, biting can occur. As parents, it’s important to model the type of language you want them to use.
For example, "I see that you are mad that you can’t have that right now, how about we play with something else together.” As we talked about earlier, consistency is key to breaking this habit!
If you have any questions or need help with your child's biting, schedule a free 15 minute call and we can chat! I love making kids custom sensory diets to help their individual sensory needs. Additionally, I love working with families to setup behavioral reinforcement systems that works with your specific needs!
Emily Schreiber OTD, OTR/L