Attack Of The Baby Land Shark
One evening Sayle and I were playing on the floor. He loves to crawl to me, then crawl away, then crawl back. Sayle finds this little game seriously entertaining and puts himself into hysterics while crawling around. After crawling to me a few times and crawling away, he crawled back, leaned over and bit me. I screamed “ouch” which resulted in a big grin from my “baby land shark.”
Sayle's Latest Baby Picture
Being bitten by Sayle was initially shocking to me as he has never been a biter before. He had grabbed my fingers and tried to put them in his mouth, but babies put everything in their mouths, especially when they are teething. This situation was different; he wasn’t teething and he had never blatantly bitten me before! Since the “baby land shark” act started about a month ago, he has tried to bite me several more times and been successful once. I was holding him and he randomly bit the daylights out of my shoulder.
Even though biting is a normal part of a baby’s development, I was very concerned by this behavior. I didn’t want him biting me, much less biting anyone else! I also was confused as I have always thought that babies bite from frustration or anxiety. Sayle was not biting in frustration, or during a temper tantrum, nor is he an anxious baby-so those reasons didn’t explain this behavior.
After researching babies and biting, I have found some great tips that have helped me understand this behavior and start to curb it.
1-When a baby bites you, make a conscious effort not to shriek or yell “ouch.” Easier said than done I know, but any reaction from you is only going to encourage the biting. Sayle thought it was funny when I reacted, he didn’t understand that “ouch” meant that his eight little razor teeth tore the heck out of my shoulder! You must calmly remove your child’s razor teeth from your flesh because any reaction from mom, is a cool reaction!
2-Observe the behavior and try to figure out the signs that your child is about to bite. I think the first time Sayle bit me was out of excitement and over stimulation. He was laughing hysterically and having a great time. When babies are non-verbal, they have to find other ways to express how they are feeling. While frustration, need for attention, and anxiety can evoke biting, so can excitement, fun and even love. Sayle has tried to bite me while we were snuggling, so biting does not necessarily mean there is a need going unmet or the baby is being spiteful.
3-Do not play biting games and don’t let your other children bite your baby in fun. Even if you or your other children are giving the baby love-bites or playing, it is teaching your baby that biting is a game.
4-Immediately address the behavior and consistently address it every time it occurs. When Sayle is about to bite me, I found that putting my finger to his lips and saying “no biting” or “biting hurts” and then putting him down for about a minute to be helpful. By putting my finger to his lips after a near-bite immediately, I am showing him that biting is not appropriate. Putting him down shows him he is not going to get attention when he bites.
I will update these tips if I find anything else that works. So far the land shark attacks have been fewer, so hopefully he is getting the message that biting is unacceptable.
Have you found any useful tips to keep babies from biting?
Great tips!! I had never heard most of this info and I have a feeling my little one might not be far behind Sayle so it’s good info to have!
Thanks Mandy!! I honestly feel that the finger to the lips and my response of “no biting” and putting him down is working. Sayle put his mouth on my shoulder this morning and when I said “Sayle, no biting” he immediately let go so I didn’t even have to take it to the next step. I just praised him after he let go.
Jack is a biter only on occasion. The other night he snuck a bite in when I was trying to cuddle. It caught me off guard so I reacted which I usually try only to say in a firm voice “NO BITING.” After I say that I leave his his “circle” and stop giving him immediate attention. Of course he follows me or cries but atleast he knows that is not an appropriate way to play.
Isn’t it so hard not to just react with an OUCH. I know I wasn’t expecting jaws to come up and bite me! Unfortunatey, any reaction from mommy is a good reaction to them, so you handled it perfectly, Lacy. I think immediately removing yourself from them is really what gets them. It’s like “what a minute, mommy is not giving me attention??!!” Sayle follows me too, and I let him do it for a few seconds before picking him back up, regardless, he gets the point!