The child who does not succeed in making himself understood and who seeks to exteriorize a situation which anguishes him, anger or frustrates him, may come to bite in order to be heard. To limit this type of behavior, let’s start by understanding and deciphering the child’s emotions.

It is around 8 or 9 months that this type of behavior appears. But at this age, it is by no means a sudden urge to discharge his emotions. It is teething and the discomfort that accompanies it that encourages the child to bite. So there is no point scolding him or explaining viciously that this is a bad thing. The baby cannot yet understand, he is much too young. For him, it is only an effective way to relieve his physical discomfort.

On the other hand, past this age, bites can take on a whole new meaning:

• Defense mechanism, especially in communities and in the presence of other children (nursery, school, nanny, etc.);
• In response to frustration imposed by an adult (confiscation of a toy, punishment, etc.);
• To show his anger, to play or because the child is very tired;
• Because he is living in a stressful situation that he cannot manage, or to attract attention;
• And finally, because he reproduces a brutal and / or violent gesture that he has witnessed.

Do not delay reacting when your child bites, but stay calm. No need to get upset and scold him, his brain is not yet able to understand that he did something stupid and draw conclusions from it. For him, biting is not something bad, it is rather an instinctive reflex in response to a concern that he encounters. So, it is better to explain things to him calmly to make him understand gently that he does not have to start over. Use simple “I don’t want you to bite” words and be firm. You can also show him the consequences of his gesture (“You see, he was in pain. He is crying”) but do not go into long explanations that the child will not understand.

If your child has bitten a sibling or a playmate, start by consoling the little one who got the bite. By granting tenderness to the latter, the child who was trying to attract attention then understands that his gesture is useless. You can also ask him to “heal” the other child so that he realizes the pain he has inflicted. Then ask him to go get a cloth or a blanket to calm his friend.

It is important to mark the occasion and explain to your child that what he has done is wrong. However, don’t dramatize the situation either. No need to call him “bad”. This term, unrelated to the incident, would only serve to harm his self-esteem, and in no way improve his behavior. Also avoid biting him in turn; some parents feel obligated to inflict the same on him êş in return to “show” him what it does. But it is absolutely useless. On the one hand, the child does not make the connection and second, he could take this gesture for a normality since his own parents use it.

To solve the problem and limit recurrence, you need to understand what made him bite. So ask yourself questions about the circumstances of the incident: who? or ? when ? Did he give a reason? Was he tired? And draw the right conclusions and possibly solutions. To do this, do not hesitate to open the dialogue with open questions.

Also be on alert during the following days. If you feel him ready to start over, isolate him quickly, keep him close to you, and value his gentle and friendly gestures towards other children. Calming and reassuring him will allow him to divert his attention by freeing him from his punctual aggressiveness.

Finally, offer to help her express and externalize her feelings using words or pictures. With cards or photos of a happy, angry, sad, tired child, etc. encourage him to share his feelings with you.

Many children bite. This step is often part of the behaviors that they must experience and that they must learn to refrain. Be firm and patient to support him as well as possible during this phase.