You think stubbing your toe on the coffee table in the middle of the night hurt? Well try having a teething baby bite a chunk out of ya and I’m sure you’ll be shouting some words they probably don’t need to hear since not all of us have a shiny new set of Mandalorian armor. 😂
When it comes to being a father the teething stage can be one of the most difficult leaving most dads wondering what they should do about their child biting them or someone else. This is a situation most don’t stop to think about to deeply and often at the expense of their little explorer.
So unless you have a little saint like “Baby Yoda” (If you can’t tell I’ve been watching some Disney+ lol) then I’m sure you’d want to know what options you have to correct the issue.
DaysoftheDad is here to help with some information I have gathered from credible sources as well as tips from my fellow fathers since we’re in this together guys. 👊😎
Try to figure out why they’re biting
The first thing I recommend any parent to do in this situation is to try and figure out why their little angel is acting like a little monster 👹
I read in “What To Expect The First Year” by Heidi Murkoff that it’s honestly only natural for a baby to want to bite so make sure to remember that. I also learned that babies don’t realize through empathy that their bite hurts anyone until they’re a toddler.
So when you do react to them biting you they will often enjoy the reaction and want to experience the situation more. They go all day biting on just about whatever they what with no consequence as well as no reaction in most cases so to get any kind of reaction from you will seem funny, scary or interesting.
The book suggests trying to notice if your baby is biting due to being tired, wired, frustrated, hungry for attention, or just plain hungry. I know from personal experience as a dad myself that consistency is key in order to overcome this mission. As soon as I made sure to spend more one on one time with my son, feed him and make sure his teething needs were met I didn’t have to worry about being punctured by the little werewolf. 🥳
The nail biting solutions! 😬
In regards to what to do if your child does decide that you look as yummy as fried chicken:
“You need to swiftly, calmly, and matter-of-factly remove the biter from the part he’s biting, with a firm, no-nonsense “no biting.” Then divert their attention to something else.”
To sum that up for most of us that had to read that twice (Like me 😅),
When your child bites you or someone else try to get to them quickly, pick them up, tell them in your serious voice “no” and then have them start doing something else. You simply repeat this process anytime it occurs and it will slowly program your child’s mind to stop biting. Just make sure to try and understand why they are biting whatever it is at that moment so that you can deter the behavior. Great way to help avoid the dog getting a new piercing later. 🐕
The next solution I found was from an AAP article by the radio series ‘A Minute for Kids’ titled “Children Who Bite.”
They’re advice explains that the child might be biting to “express their excitement or frustration” and that although young children have little to no self-control it can’t continue. They advise us to either use a time out session to show them that it is not okay to bite and to try to help them learn to express themselves in a more nonviolent way. If nothing works then to talk to your pediatrician to see if there are other issues that may be behind your child’s aggressive behaviors.
Lastly is the wonderfully brutal and a little too honest knowledge from fellow fathers that I know personally and in social media groups. While I don’t want to tell anyone how to raise their kid, these are mostly here for comic effect lol I urge you to please try one of the first two methods or consult your pediatrician. 😁
What I’ve heard from other dads on how to stop your child from biting:
- Biggest answer – pop them on the mouth or hand (I don’t like this one because it can lead to them hitting other children or pets)
- Bite the kid back (obvious No 🤨)
- Put them in time out (talked about above)
- Be dramatic and act like you’re hurt to help them learn empathy (this on is a maybe but they might like the reaction and do it more)
- Give up cuz they ain’t gonna stop 😭
- Invest in some body armor 🤣
I really hope that this information helps out plenty of parents now and in the future! You guys are why I do this so know that you are appreciated and valued.
If you got some value from this post please give it a like and share it with a parent you know as a way to pay the kindness forward. We’re in this together!
Days of the Dad 
Ugh! Yes. Biting is incredibly painful. It happens over here every once in a while, too. Thanks for the post about it. I’ll see if Amazon has any sales on body armor. 🙂
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Biting is the worst. Seriously glad that stage is over!
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Again, you provide great information to parents. We thought our days of being a chew toy for youngsters ended 15 (or so) years ago when our youngest (of six) was a toddler. But, no. Now our kids are grown and having children of their own, so now we have at least one grandchild to whom everyone’s flesh is a delicacy straight out of Gordon Ramsay’s kitchen.
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😂 that’s great! Love the way you said that and yeah I’ll be there one day as a grandpa too 👊 thanks for the support 🙏
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