CHILDREN WHO BITE

It is very common for a child to bite others at some point during their early years. When children do not have the skills or vocabulary to express their feelings, they might engage in a behavior, such as biting, as a way to let you know how they feel. Children might bite for a variety of reasons:


 Frustration – she might bite because she wants her toy back or because her sister is sitting too close to her.

 Lack of play skills – she might bite because she feels overwhelmed by the proximity of other children or expectation to share toys.

 Attention – she might bite because biting causes a big reaction from adults. Biting can result in adults interacting with the child or gaining the adult’s attention.

 Teething – she might bite to relieve pain from new teeth coming in.

 Overwhelming emotions – she might bite because she does not know how to express emotions when she is hungry, tired, scared or anxious.

The important thing for you to remember when biting occurs is to stay calm with your actions and words and first try to figure out the reason why the biting happened.

This information  was retrieved from:   www.challengingbehavior.org

Katherine Generaux - Community Inclusion