I was busy cooking in the kitchen earlier today when I just felt a stab of pain in my leg. When I looked down, I saw my little princess biting me and despite the pain, I was just so relieved that I didn’t instinctively kick when I felt something.
My baby is teething and although she doesn’t mean any harm with her nibbles, I wanted to know if this new habit of hers can be stopped or avoided because I don’t want to cry in the middle of the night when she decides to try her new trick while she’s breastfeeding. That will be a big OUCH!!!
I found the following tips on how to stop babies from biting – and I’m sharing them to all mommies with young babies and would-be mommy readers. (Well, if you’re a dad, you can share this to your wife too, wink!)
- Don’t make a big deal of a bite. Crying out in pain or scolding her strongly may only encourage her to do it again to see what you will do next.
- A firm, no-nonsense and low-drama statement of “no biting” rule is the best response.
- Offer her something she can bite on such as a teething toy, pacifier or chilled washcloth.
- Distract her with a song, a toy or a visit to the window to see the passers by or the cars outside.
- Be consistent with this routine so that the baby will get the picture and reserve her bites for inanimate objects.
There. I’ll do that and see if it will do the trick.
as for me, i didn’t mind when my daughter bit me because of her teething when she was less than a year old. but now that she’s more than a year old already and almost has a complete set of teeth, i am really more careful because her bite can already hurt.
incidentally, because of this post, i just remembered there’s a youtube hit “charlie bit me” 🙂 it’s a really cute video
I agree, being consistent is very important. I have also learned by tone needs to change. Like I can’t use the same calm, sweet tone I use when I talk normally. It doesn’t mean yelling, it just means a firmer, more solid tone. You know what I mean?
yeah, i get it. it seems my baby already recognizes that tone and knows when i don’t approve of what she’s doing.
very informative post.
buti nalang talaga hindi mo nasipa. hehehe. anyway, when my 2 older kids were teething, i try to soothe the pain away by rubbing my fingers on their gums. i don’t mind if they bite my finger if that makes them relieve the pain. 😉