Comments on: The beautiful urge to bite and what to do about it

By: Shelly

Shelly — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 01:48:36 +0000

@Erika, YES!!! I love that you’ve created opportunities for your son to do what he loves in a constructive way.

@Lisa Kathleen, nice! It’s amazing how redirecting whining can work. My whole body relaxes when I hear a child ask for something in a tone of voice that I enjoy. Thanks for reminding me about that!

@cyn, I agree that behavior that’s destructive should be addressed right away. It is MUCH harder to transform a long standing habit than it is to change behavior that was a one time experiment.

@Jim, I love your addition here. Thanks for clarifying my intended message.

Wow, I feel so grateful for all of your thoughtful comments. It gives me a sense of community and connection to read your responses to my posts. Thank you thank you thank you.
.-= Shelly´s last blog ..The beautiful urge to bite and what to do about it =-.

By: Lisa Kathleen

Lisa Kathleen — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:49:05 +0000

My favourite – whining. I redirect by saying, “Do you mean, “Mommy, darling, dearest, and sweetie, could you please help put me put the pants on my doll?”" in the sweetest voice ever. It’s quite charming to hear it repeated.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:43:00 +0000

@cyn, I think Shelly might agree with you. After all the child was immediately told, “’It’s not OK to bite people.” What I get from the article is that it’s important to go beyond the NO! and help the child learn to redirect his aggression and frustration (or just need to bite) into an acceptable behavior. For a small child that might be biting an inanimate object rather than a human. For older children hopefully it would be learning to channel emotions into acceptable and (hopefully) productive activities. I’m in my fifties and I can occasionally still use help in that area.

By: Erika

Erika — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:23:43 +0000

My son starting climbing our door frames and the outside of our house up to the eaves a couple of years ago. We sent him to an indoor rock climbing school and my husband even built him a climbing wall in our backyard and have never looked back. He also loves to hit , so we signed him up for drum lessons and bought him a digital drum kit with earphones.

By: cyn

cyn — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:43:56 +0000

I believe kids should be told instantly if they are doing something wrong. Cos when it becomes a habit, it is very difficult to change them