Handling a Toddler that Bites

With teething comes great tooth-sponsibilities…

Your cute, little, gum-gnawing baby grew a set of teeth and has suddenly gone from harmless ticklish gnawing to vampire-like toothy grip on any and everything in sight. As with all frustrating situations, it’s best to first rule out possible causes before going on to prescribing solutions or remedies.

WHY YOUR LITTLE ONE MAY HAVE TURNED LITTLE DRACULA OVERNIGHT.  

TEETHING

This period is an absolutely difficult one for any child to go through. I mean, imagine stone-hard particle breaking through a soft surface, that’s exactly what teething is. New teeth erupt through soft, swollen gums and cause the baby the most frustrating discomfort ever. And what do they do in turn, start crying uncontrollably, run a temperature, be very irritable or bite on surfaces (sometimes your hands get caught in between)– basically anything to let steam off.

What to do: Put baby’s teething bib in the refrigerator to get slightly cold. When she bites on this, it provides cooling relief for the otherwise hot gummy frustration she’s going through. Another thing that works is something you’ve probably never done or heard of– Breastmilk popsicles. This works best if your baby has started taking semi-solid food. It’s also advisable to only use fruits you’ve fed her before if you’ll be including fruits in the popsicle preparation. However, breastmilk-only popsicles are still feasible if your baby hasn’t started taking semi-solids yet.

How to make: First off, you’ll need a popsicle mold. Recommended fruits or veggies that can be blended alongside breast milk are strawberries, avocados, bananas, mangoes, carrots or potatoes. Just find what fruit or veggies your baby favors most and blend with your breast milk. Ensure to blend the mixture until it is completely smooth. Then pour the mixture into the popsicle mold and refrigerate for a few hours until solid.

It’s advisable to get good popsicle molds that don’t fall off the stick while your baby is trying to get a grip. The Teetherpop teething popsicle mold comes highly recommended. It’s got great grip and popsicle sits on longer on the stick without slipping off.

One thing worth looking out for when getting popsicle molds for your little one is what material it’s made of. Don’t forget it’ll be going in your baby’s mouth so it’s important to ascertain it is BPA-free, PVC-free, Latex-free, and Phthalate-free. It’s why popsicle molds from Teetherpop rate highly, as they are made out of FDA-approved medical grade materials.

Gotta make sure that while trying to get rid of one problem, you’re not afflicting your little bug with bigger problems in the long run.

A CALL FOR ATTENTION

“Hey, you! Acknowledge my presence or have my fangs to deal with!”

Sometimes all your toddler just wants is your attention. It’s an extreme way to call for attention but nothing little ones ever do can be rationalized.

What to do: Reassuring eye contacts accompanied by a firm “no sweetheart, that hurts mommy, don’t do that again” does the trick. Toddlers are pretty emotionally aware so this works well. So rather than just giggling it off to reinforce future, harder bites, nip it in the bud as gently and as firmly as you can lovingly manage.

Other times, it’s a lot more serious than previously cited scenarios. Your toddler has gone from brandishing their fangs at mum and dad and have taken to other kids at school. This is usually when it starts becoming a real worry for the parents because now, their cute little munchkin is now a fierce jack-o’-lantern to other kids at school.

A possible cause:

BUILT-UP TENSION FROM HOME-CAUSED FACTORS

Biting is one way a child resorts to let out pent up frustration or throw tantrums. It’s the equivalent of adults punching hard at something when frustrated. 

Check the environment at home. What atmosphere does your child come back home to? What’s the nature of your child’s caregiver? Is she affectionate or cold with your child? Perhaps you need to invest in a surveillance camera to see what goes on when you’re not there. 

Do you leave your child for long periods alone and unattended to? Toys don’t always make up for human interactions. Take out time to actually bond with your child to understand what exactly the cause of the tension might be and actively work to ease them out. Listen to your child and actively engage them. Sometimes all you need to do is to effectively keep your child positively distracted.

WHAT TO NEVER DO

Lashing out or using punishment as a means to stop this habit is sabotaging. When you, as an adult, are frustrated or feel mentally boxed in, the last thing you definitely need is anyone breathing down your neck in a rebuttal. Extrapolate this same scenario to your child, be there to listen and help them through however they may be feeling at the time.

However, if none of this helps, you just might need the help of a pediatrician.