How to Stop a Toddler From Hitting and Biting

By C. Stewart

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

Patience

How to Stop a Toddler from Hitting and Biting

Step 1:
Deal with your toddler's hitting and biting immediately. Don’t wait around hoping that he will suddenly realize that being aggressive towards others is not appropriate. Ignoring the behavior is just like saying to your toddler, "It's okay to hurt your friends."
Step 2:
Teach your toddler how to put his feelings into words. Keep in mind that teaching a young child how to verbalize his feelings takes time--so even if he doesn't comprehend at first, keep at it. Your toddler will eventually learn how to use his words to communicate instead of his teeth and fists.
Step 3:
Remove your toddler from the situation. If your youngster hits or bites another child, swiftly remove him and say, “No biting. Biting hurts others." Give him time to regain his composure before sending him back to play with friends.
Step 4:
Let your toddler help care for the victim. This will teach her how to empathize with others; crunching into her friend’s arm to get her point across is not the right thing to do.
Step 5:
Watch for things that trigger your toddler to hit or bite. Does he dislike playing in large groups? Does he hit or bite when he hasn’t had enough rest? Is there too much stimulation in the home? If you can pinpoint the cause of your toddler’s aggressive behavior, you can take steps to prevent it.
Step 6:
Be patient. As a toddler matures, her ability to verbalize her wants and needs will increase, and the desire to hit and bite others will gradually fade.

More Puppy Pages

How to Get Your Child to Play Nicely With Others

Parents are often quite anxious to start getting their children together for playdates at very early ages. The problem, of course, is that toddlers are still learning about self-control and often they are not able to express anger or frustration in...

Ferrets use their mouths as a tool, a means of defense and a way to communicate. When playing together, ferrets will nip at eat other and grab their friend with their mouth to drag him around the house. People who have pet ferrets, however, do not want...

Like many types of birds, Quaker Parrots can be biters. While they are a small parrot, Quakers can inflict a painful bite and even draw blood when they put their mind to it. If you don't correct your Quaker Parrot when it bites, this behavior can become...

Most parents either remember the classroom bully or remember being the classroom bully, but no parent wants their kid to be known as their classroom bully. Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior. It can be verbal or non verbal. It’s a tool kids...

I wanted to talk a little bit about the biting situation because all dogs do this play biting. Some dogs do aggressive biting and the aggressive biting is, as an example, if you went to take a toy away from him, and he growled and snapped at you or if...