NSW Government
Families NSW

help! my child bites

toddler smilingIf your toddler is going through a biting stage – don’t despair!

Biting is fairly common among young children. Biting is often very painful and frightening for the child (or adult) who is bitten.

It can also be frightening for the child who bites, because it upsets the other child and makes adults angry.

Children bite for different reasons – to see what it’s like or because they feel frustrated, stressed or powerless.

Biting is one way that babies explore the world. They put everything into their mouths – it’s common for babies to bite your breast when they are feeding.

what parents can do

  • Get in first and try to avoid situations that your child can’t cope with – keep play groups small, make sure your child doesn’t get tired and stressed by playing for too long.
  • Try and protect your child so that she doesn’t need to bite.
  • If she is playing with older children, explain to them how your child feels and ask them to share toys and games.
  • Constantly supervise small children and make separate play places for older and younger children if necessary.
  • Step in when two children may be fighting over the same toy.
  • If your child has already bitten, quickly tell her that she is not to bite and remove her from the situation and keep her with you for a while before letting her return.

Remember to always comfort your child - whatever the reason for the bite. Whatever you do, don’t bite back or respond by physically punishing your child - it only teaches them to be violent towards others.

some discipline IS NOT OK

Hitting, punching or striking a child is never acceptable. In NSW it is against the law to use excessive physical punishment against a child. This law applies to parents and to people acting in the place of a parent.

The law says that it is unacceptable to use physical force on:

  • any part of your child’s head or neck (unless it is insignificant)
  • any other part of your child’s body if the harm it causes lasts for more than a short time.

There are more effective ways of disciplining children than using physical punishment. If you use physical punishment with your toddler chances are they will copy you and bully others.