Biting
LaDonna Werth and Lisa Poppe - Early Childhood Extension Educators
Author
02/28/2024
Added
2
Plays
Description
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 the vocabulary to express their feelings, they might engage in a behavior, such as biting, as a way to let you know how they feel.
Searchable Transcript
Toggle between list and paragraph view.
- [00:00:01.899]Fit and Healthy Kids - An Early Childhood Podcast (with music).
- [00:00:05.510](LaDonna Werth) Hello from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
- [00:00:09.030]This is LaDonna Werth and Lisa Poppe -
- [00:00:10.970]Extension Educators in the field of Early Childhood.
- [00:00:14.500]We are here to talk littles in your life. (music)
- [00:00:19.532]A parent came to me the other day and stated I cannot believe
- [00:00:23.532]my adorable little toddler is starting to bite other children.
- [00:00:27.842]I don’t know where she got this new habit.
- [00:00:30.872]What can I do to stop this behavior!
- [00:00:33.601]Lisa can you give us any advice on toddler biting.
- [00:00:37.601](Lisa Poppe) What parents need to know is, it is very common
- [00:00:41.344]for a child to bite others at some point during their early years.
- [00:00:45.224]When children do not have the skills or the vocabulary
- [00:00:49.254]to express their feelings, they might engage in a behavior,
- [00:00:52.577]such as biting, as a way to let you know how they feel.
- [00:00:56.583]Children might bite for a variety of reasons:
- [00:00:59.437]For instance, Frustration – she might bite because she wants her toy back
- [00:01:03.477]or because her sister is sitting too close to her.
- [00:01:06.996]She might bite because she feels overwhelmed by the proximity
- [00:01:10.186]of other children or expectation to share her toys.
- [00:01:14.674]She also might bite because biting causes a big reaction
- [00:01:18.364]from adults and she is seeking their attention.
- [00:01:21.032]So biting can result in adults interacting
- [00:01:23.902]with the child or gaining the adult’s attention.
- [00:01:26.512]She also might bite to relieve pain from new teeth coming in.
- [00:01:30.654]OR she might bite because she does not know how to express
- [00:01:34.084]emotions when she is hungry, when she's tired, scared or even anxious.
- [00:01:38.854](LaDonna Werth) What do we need to remember about this new biting behavior?
- [00:01:43.644](Lisa Poppe) Well, the important thing for you to remember when
- [00:01:46.604]biting occurs is to stay calm with your actions and your words and
- [00:01:50.384]try to figure out the reason WHY the biting happened.
- [00:01:54.384]Remember there is a reason for the behavior.
- [00:01:57.234]So for example, if your child bites you when your attention
- [00:02:00.614]is focused on another person in the room, you might think
- [00:02:03.945]your child bit you to get your attention.
- [00:02:05.905]Once you understand the reasons why your child bites,
- [00:02:09.586]you can teach her a new way to express her feelings
- [00:02:12.836]or her requests during situations when she is likely to bite.
- [00:02:17.047]It takes time, patience and repeated practice, but
- [00:02:20.177]once she has mastered the skills needed to appropriately express
- [00:02:24.177]her feelings, biting and other challenging behaviors will decrease.
- [00:02:29.126](LaDonna Werth) Children get frustrated often and they may bite.
- [00:02:33.126]What can we do to help them.?
- [00:02:35.616](Lisa Poppe) If your child is biting out of frustration,
- [00:02:38.466]you can say, “You are so frustrated.
- [00:02:41.466]You want that toy.”
- [00:02:43.156]Teach your child simple words such as “mine” or “no.”
- [00:02:47.236]Or you can teach some basic sign language or
- [00:02:50.056]gestures for things like “help” or “stop.”
- [00:02:52.866]It is a matter of giving them the words to use instead of the action.
- [00:02:57.748](LaDonna Werth) How can I help a child when they are playing?
- [00:03:01.748](Lisa Poppe) So, if your child is biting because she lacks play skills,
- [00:03:06.629]join her in play by sitting on the floor and coaching her.
- [00:03:10.197]She might need guidance to learn and practice how
- [00:03:13.062]to join play, take turns, share, communicate with
- [00:03:16.981]other children, and ask help if she needs it.
- [00:03:19.891]So for example, if another child tries to take her doll,
- [00:03:23.528]you might say, “Molly thinks your doll looks fun.
- [00:03:26.098]She wants to play too.
- [00:03:27.938]Can we show Molly where the other dolls are?
- [00:03:30.338]It's as simple as role playing with them.
- [00:03:33.278](LaDonna Werth) When a child gets overwhelmed how can a parent help them?
- [00:03:38.168](Lisa Poppe) If he is biting at times when he feels overwhelmed by anger,
- [00:03:42.229]frustration, or disappointment, you can teach him about emotions
- [00:03:46.229]and ways to deal with them in order to reduce, or eliminate, the biting behavior.
- [00:03:51.519]You can use books about emotional literacy or teaching tools.
- [00:03:55.560]You can also help him to identify and label his own emotions or
- [00:03:59.560]others emotions as they are being experienced.
- [00:04:03.560](LaDonna Werth) Is biting a common problem with very young children?
- [00:04:07.678](Lisa Poppe) YES! Biting is a common behavior for very young children,
- [00:04:12.619]but one that must be addressed immediately.
- [00:04:15.400]Children might bite when they feel overwhelmed by an emotion
- [00:04:19.400]and do not have the words or skills to tell someone or ask for help.
- [00:04:23.592]Parents can watch and learn when their child is likely to bite.
- [00:04:27.212]For instance, during play dates with friends,
- [00:04:30.042]when left alone with a sibling, or when teething.
- [00:04:32.986]When this happens teach your child a new skill to replace the biting behavior.
- [00:04:38.416](LaDonna Werth) Thank you, Lisa, for giving us insight to why very young children bit.
- [00:04:44.614](music) This has been LaDonna and Lisa with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
- [00:04:49.700]Until next time, enjoy your family time together.
- [00:04:53.510](music) Fit and Healthy Kids is a co-production of
- [00:04:56.363]Nebraska Extension, Georgia Extension,
- [00:04:58.473]Kansas State Extension, South Dakota State Extension,
- [00:05:01.583]and the Iowa Childcare Resource and Referral.
The screen size you are trying to search captions on is too small!
You can always jump over to MediaHub and check it out there.
Log in to post comments
Embed
Copy the following code into your page
HTML
<div style="height: 5.62em; max-width: 56.12rem; overflow: hidden; position:relative; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex-grow: 1;"> <iframe style="bottom: 0; left: 0; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; border: 0; height: 100%; width: 100%;" src="https://mediahub.unl.edu/media/21950?format=iframe&autoplay=0" title="Audio Player: Biting" allowfullscreen ></iframe> </div>
Comments
0 Comments