When is Enough Enough.....

My son was a holy little terror like this. I got so fed up with his biting that I bit him back. Not hard enough to break the skin but hard enough to make him cry. I explained to him (and was only about 27 months old) that it hurt when he bit people and he wouldn't want to bite someone and make them cry and hurt like I did. He never bit anyone again. As for the temper tantrum. I used what is called active ignoring. I would literally act like he was not even there. He would throw himself on the floor and kick and scream and yell like someone was ripping his arms off and I would just step right over him like he didn't exist. Once he realized that that kind of behavior wasn't getting any of my attention he stopped doing that too but admittedly that took much longer than the biting to over come. Good luck.

I am not sure what I can add to all of the previous posts - they had some REALLY good advice in there. I do agree that biting back is a good method. I haven't experienced that with my almost two year old, yet. I know we use to do that to our cat though! lol I would also agree that maybe taking him to child psychitrist wouldn't hurt. How is his speach? That might also be a problem if he is not able to communicate effectivly. Not sure if you already do this but have you taught him sign language? That helps with communication and frustration on both the parents part and the childs part. I know my son throws tantrums and he gets very frustrated when he can not tell me what he wants or what hurts.

I have read the previous post and they might work. I had only one child that was a bitter. After a couple of timers having her bite me I bit her back and after a couple of times she stopped. Now the other child would have the temper tantrums I threw a galss of water on her and the tantrum stopped. " Why did you do that" When I explained to her that she was not to do that again. she was finished for until the nest time. I had to do this about three times before she totally stopped.

ohh hell no....have you ever bitten him back?! I WOULD..in fact I DID with my son at that age...and gave him a good scolding telling him its not nice, it hurts and not to do it anymore....Same with hair pulling..he'd pull hair so I'd turn around and pull his and tell him "see it hurts doesnt it?!" sure enough it too ended quickly... I would suggest you up the firm with him...if spanking isnt working then you have to find another method..but you MUST get it under control or you'll find you'll have even more problems as he gets older and it'll become even more and more difficult to control him....

hmmm, difficult thing this. I personally don't agree with bitting or smacking children, i truely don't believe that you get any where by hurting a child that way. It doesn't earn respect, only fear! If children get most of their attention when they misbehave then thats they way they'll continue. Parents busy doing the housework, talking on the phone, working from home etc child gets given lunch, a few toys put in front of them, or the tv for company. They soon realise that if they do something their not ment to, or start screaming, parent will come running, probably shouting, but its still attention, and bad attention is better than none. Like what has already been said, as long as theres no real danger you need to ignore any bad behaviour. Instead praise every little good thing they do, a treat a sticker whatever, not all the time or they'll expect it. It won't be long before they'll calm down and show the desired behaviour. Good luck

I have a good friend who's grandson acted out wildly like you describe your son to do. It started when he was about 2 or 2 1/2 yrs old, and so she figured it was just a really bad case of the "terrible twos". Eventually, he would get more and more irritated and fixated on specific things. These things would in fact "trigger" him, and he would lash out with those "temper tantrums". My friend would simply remove him from the situation, and hoped he would grow out of it. She started noticing certain things would trigger these episodes, such as trying to get him to wear a shirt that buttoned up, or taking away a certain "digger" truck. When she would respond with a bum spanking, he too would just laugh at her. It was later found out that he is a special needs child, and has Aspbergers Syndrome (sp?). It turns out, many (if not most) children who have this do not develop it until they are around 2 years old. Up until that point, all of the milestones are "normal". I AM NOT SUGGESTING THAT YOUR SWEETIE HAS THIS SYNDROME. :) I just thought I would share the experience my friend had with her grandson when he was that age. :)

I agree that you try ignoring his tantrums for some time. Maybe he was just trying to get your attention but if it persists and affects other people, you try asking for professional help. A child psychologist would help you understand why some kids are like this. I don't say that he may have Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder but who knows right? You should know when things are getting out of hand and help are much needed to control your child.