My youngest is making herself known by taking a “bite” out of crime—toddler crime that is. Anna’s solution for someone stealing her toy is a giant bite out of an arm. This week alone, we’ve left a trail of bite marks and bruises to at least four children—some of them were the lucky recipients of more than one bite.
I love her and she is adorable, but she is B-A-D. So cute and so dangerous. The tantrums, while trying, I can deal with. The defiance is even tolerable on some level, but the biting leaves me ashamed as a parent. Where did I go wrong?
This all started when Anna was about 13 months. She discovered this was her best form of defense against Alex who was16 months her senior. She may be weaker and smaller, but a good bite packs a great punch. I have tried time outs, sweet talking, bribing, spanking, slapping her hand and even biting her back so she knows that it hurts. None of these have worked. One friend suggested I make her lick a bit of Tabasco Sauce every time she did it. She swore that worked for her friend’s kid. That just seems harsh and downright mean for a two-year old! But apologizing to four moms this week is getting old.
Any thoughts out there on how to stop the biting?
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1 comment:
OMG I just stumbled on your blog and this sooo made me laugh. Sorry. Mine are less than 12 months apart(they are now 4 and 5 and past the biting stage). My daughter, the younger of the two, was my biter. Fortunately, she only bit her brother. Well fortunately for all children besides him. She left the nastiest marks too, it was horrifying. I had no advice, I wish I did. For us, time was the only thing that helped. I tried tabasco once and she looked defiantly at me and said "mmmmmm" and pretended like it was delicious. She was 2 that time. I think by 2.5 or 3 she completely stopped.
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