[krsnow]

My LO is biting me constantly. For the past 2 days it's been horrible. I can tell he does it when he is upset because I take him away from a toy or try to stop him from playing with the dog bowls, but he also does for no reason, just when I am holding him and he has easy access to my arm. I have been trying time outs today, but I don't know if it is going to help. Its the 1st time I have tried time out so not sure if my LO gets what is going on. I had 2 friends tell me to bite him back, which I thought was a big no no. Do you guys have any advice or thoughts on this?? I'm now afraid to take him on play dates because if he bit another kid I would be so embarrassed.

[Irish_Wristwatch]

Ross bites sometimes, i dont think he does it because hes upset or trying to misbehave i think he does it for the reaction he gets. IMO they are too young for time outs, they dont understand yet, When Ross bites we firmly say "No, we dont bite that hurts Mommy/Daddy/whoever he bit" he doesnt like the firm voice so that stops the behaviour for a bit

[Luvgreen19]

Ditto to what Bree said. We say no that hurts mommy whomever in the firm voice and then turn his attention to something else. If Brendan tries to do it again, I make sure he's somewhere where he can't hurt himself, and then I walk away. When he knows his behavior isn't going to get my attention it usually stops his negative behavior.

[noworries]

show that it hurts by making a sad face and say something like "that hurts mommy". If you are holding him when he bites, put him down for a minute.
I don't think time outs are going to be effective at this age and I definitely wouldn't bite back. That would be confusing for him. What would you think if someone told you "no biting" and then bit you back?

[Trish36]

Miranda bites me when she's mad or if I don't pay her the attention he wants. What I've tried doing is saying "OUCH" really really loud. That usually scares her and makes her cry and then she won't do it for a while. But it is just a phase. Could be that his gums are itchy or maybe he's just testing his boundries or wants to see what your reaction is going to be.
(DS used to bite me right in the butt...he used to come up behind me when I was doing the dishes and sink his teeth in. Funny now...not funny then. )

[krsnow]

I have tried saying "no" in a firm voice, and that doesn't work. My LO laughs and just bites me again, he thinks its a game. No matter how mad I get he just thinks its funny. I have tried smacking him on the back of the hand, and he thinks that is funny too. If I put him in time out, he gets upset and cries so that makes me think maybe that's the best option right now. I usually just put him in his pack & play and walk away for 30 seconds. But I am worried that he will begin to hate the pack & play, and I may need him to sleep in it if we are away from home or traveling. There is really no safe room in the house that I can put him in and walk away from except for his play room, which is filled with toys so that doesn't make sense. I know a lot of people say this is too young for time outs, but I just feel like doing nothing & just distracting him is going to make him think it's ok to bite. A few people have witnessed him biting me and smiling, and they all say that he thinks it's a game. So how do I get him to understand it's wrong? Im a 1st time mom and really don't know what to do about these things, and I have no idea what kind of discipline is best. I 2nd guess myself all the time and then feel embarrassed when it happens in front of other people & their kids because I don't know if I am handling the situation right.