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Granny's Advice

By Rosaleen Dickson, BA, MJ
Dear Great Granny.

My 2 1/2 yr. old bites things, i.e. chairs, sofa, himself, brother, mom and dad when he gets frustrated, teased or scolded. My wife and I tell him no biting and put him in a time out. He still keeps on biting. I don't think that little pops in the mouth would work but other relatives say that you sometimes have do that or even bite him back to let him know how it feels. Is this correct?

Dear friend

Don't bite your child; that only teaches him that it is acceptable behavour. If you can do it, so can he! Don't pop him in the mouth either because you don't want him to think that popping people is the way to get things done. I could ask you to search for the cause of his biting, but you don't need to search because you already know. As you have said, he bites when he is frustrated, teased or scolded.

It's his last ditch cry for attention when everything is going wrong. Frustration can drive people to terrible lengths, and all your dear little boy can do is something he knows will cause all sorts of commotion; he bites whatever is in sight. His friends will soon leave him alone because nobody likes to be bitten. Some might even bite back, which accomplishes nothing. I'm sure the only reason he bites is because he has discovered that it gets your immediate attention.

If he is teased, he will react in the most antisocial way possible. Try to teach him to ignore teasing, because even if you never tease him at home, somebody outside is going to do it. Men have been known to kill tormenters; your child only bites. Teach him to say "sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me." Teach him to rise above teasers because teasers are the lowest life form in the human race. Make sure he understands how dreadful it is to tease, and don't let him do it to others.

Since scolding makes him bite, don't scold. Whenever you are about to light into him for something you think he's doing wrong, bite your own tongue. See how long you can go without scolding him. Try distracting him instead, when he's exhibiting unsuitable behaviour. Tell him how great he is more often, tell him you love him, and remind him what fun you are having together.

In other words, surround him with good feelings and pay lots of attention to everything he does so he won't have to bite to get your attention. I think you're getting the picture. You might also show him how to box and teach him some of the rules of the game. You don't want him punching out everyone in sight, but if it's another person he feels like biting, he could rais his fists and invite them to box instead.

None of the above is working? OK then. Get him one of those artificial dog bones, sit him down and tell him that he's not to bite anything else except his bone. He'll hate the taste and maybe he'll just quit biting altogether.

If all else fails, bear in mind that lots of children bite, and they grow out of it. I don't see many grown people biting eachother.

Good luck,
GG


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