Biting

We have biters on our hands. Fortunately for me, they are not biting while nursing. They've done it a few times, although I know that it was usually accidental. If they bite on purpose, the nursing session is promptly over. This is always extremely upsetting to them.

We call Teagan "big love." She has a huge smile and will grab on and give us a huge hug. The problem...the big hug is usually accompanied by a big "love bite" on the shoulder. Sometimes we'll receive love bites on our legs or arms as well. Saying "ow" or "no" has proven to be hilarious. Our new tactic is to ignore her entirely. If she bites, we put her down and do something else.

The real biting issue that we're experiencing is between the girls. Quinn has a very strong personality. She's determined and knows what she wants. The problem is that what she wants is usually what Teagan has (no surprise, I know). The other problem is that Quinn almost always gets what she wants. This results in a show-down for the toy, followed by tears on Teagan's end. Teagan then tries to fight back resulting in Quinn grabbing her hand or arm and chomping down. I know that in this situation, Teagan sounds like the victim. Don't be fooled though. She has been known to chomp down in Quinn's arm, back or even head out of frustration as well.

I've been reading about toddlers recently. Sometimes I'm not watching closely enough to know exactly what happened. When we do witness the biting, the biter is usually told "no biting" and is then ignored. One expert said that immediately taking away attention is the best way to handle it. A one-year old can obviously not understand a lengthy speech about consequences.

I know that many of you have experienced situations like this. What worked well for you?