You’ve noticed that your toddler (or child) is chewing on toys, or maybe you’ve been alerted to your child biting other children at daycare. You’re most likely wondering where this behavior comes from and what is the best thing to do. In this blog, we will discuss the different causes of biting a child as well as possible solutions.
Why does my child bite?
- Developmental stage: Biting can occur in young children as a normal part of their development. They often explore their surroundings with their mouths and may bite to explore textures.
- Self regulation: Continuing with biting as a developmental phase, biting may help your child deal with stimuli. In sensitive children, children with ADHD, autism, or anxiety, biting is a way to relax in the face of imminent overstimulation.
- Asking for attention: Some children bite to get attention. If they notice that biting triggers a response, they may repeat this behavior.
- Communication: Biting can be a way children try to communicate. For example, they bite when they want to show that they don’t like something and don’t yet have the words to express their displeasure, tension.
- Imitation: Children often learn by mimicking the behavior of others. If they see other children biting, they may copy this behavior.
How can I deal with my child’s biting?
To deal with your child’s biting, it is of course important to gain insight into the situations in which the biting occurs. Biting often stems from not being able to express emotions adequately, as well as a way to process stimuli. In the first situation, it is important to teach your child acceptable ways to deal with emotions by means of example. This can include encouraging verbal communication, giving positive attention to good behavior, and providing alternatives to biting to express frustration. If you have the impression that biting or perhaps sucking is more a self-regulating way, i.e. calming himself in situations of tension or stress, then you want to focus better at times when your kid sits still a lot to activate himself.
Bite chain to process stimuli
If you have the impression that your child bites in moments of more tension and it is a way to process the stimuli of everyday life, then biting has a function to help your child calm down (just like a pacifier or thumb). In this, you might consider giving your child a teething toy or a teething collar (3+ years) to cater to this calming strategy.
