https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 24 Jun 2026 10:21:35 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/16mo-hitting-biting-pinching#post-2620609 Tue, 13 Sep 2016 11:27:43 +0000 Littlebit7 2620609@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If it makes you feel any better, we went through this at about 13-15 months. And it passed. She would run up and give people, kids, stuffed animals, etc huge OPEN MOUTH hugs, and when she was in the middle of her hug, she'd bite. Not aggressively, but sort of the same way she really clutches and gnaws on her loveys. Or when she was being held she bit our shoulder. The pinching occurred around the same timeframe. But, it passed. Gentle hands, either ignoring the behavior or trying not to yell "ouch" when she bit (that made her think it was funny and drew attention to the episode. It was hard, because at times it would really hurt especially if she caught us off guard). Sometimes we'd just have to walk away for a bit in order to redirect her. It was hardest around other children; I had to keep a hawk eye on her. Other parents encouraged the hugs, but I'm thinking to myself "oh god, but her vampire fangs are about to come out".<br /> good luck. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/16mo-hitting-biting-pinching#post-2620601 Tue, 13 Sep 2016 11:15:41 +0000 Astro Bee 2620601@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have used an approach similar to @gingerbebe. When he bites, claws, or smacks us or our cats, we tell him "no!" and "be gentle" and then show him how to use his hands gently. Now when we say gentle, he will usually stroke my face gently, if he'd just clawed me there. It sometimes takes holding his hands for a second for him to calm down enough to realize he needs to use gentle hands. Once he's gentle, we clap hands and say "yay", which he loves doing and saying. He's 17 months so it doesn't always work, but I think we have a good success rate so far. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/16mo-hitting-biting-pinching#post-2620449 Mon, 12 Sep 2016 22:47:39 +0000 gingerbebe 2620449@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had that at that age. We were largely able to our son from hitting or grabbing by immediately clasping his hands in our own and in a very low tone said "No, we don't hit/bite. NO. We are GENTLE. Gentle." When we say gentle, we take his hand and guide him to caress the place he hit, like our head or face or arm. "See? GENTLE." And then we say "GOOD JOB! YAY!! High five!!" We started using high fives for everything because it gave him the smacking sensation but it was positive. At 2, he now hits intentionally to be naughty and we have to be a lot more stern and we are teaching him to apologize, do the gentle caress, and give a hug. Soon he will be ready for timeouts. But at 15-18 months that worked the best. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/16mo-hitting-biting-pinching#post-2620444 Mon, 12 Sep 2016 22:25:35 +0000 Dahlia 2620444@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No advice, just commiseration. My 14 month can be the same way. She doesn't bite, but she gets so rough when nursing sometimes - I've gotten several bloody noses from her shoving her fingers up there, and she'll claw at my face. Recently she's started trying to shove us out of the way if she wants something near us. We're just trying to stay calm but I hope it passes! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/16mo-hitting-biting-pinching#post-2620434 Mon, 12 Sep 2016 21:57:51 +0000 lilyofthewest 2620434@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For the last 3 weeks my 16 month old has been driving me nuts with hiting, biting, and pinching. </p> <p>He pinches for any reason and no reason. Sometimes it seems to be to get attention. Sometimes it seems like he does it absentmindedly while nursing. Sometimes he just seems like he's curious about what different pieces of skin feel like when they're squeezed. Both Sweetie and I have been really consistent in responding with "Ouch! No pinching. Pinching hurts" and trying to re-direct his attention. If he's pinching while nursing he gets cut off after two nos.</p> <p>Biting is sometimes playful -but painful!-, sometimes out of frustration (like when we're trying to put him down to bed), and sometimes while nursing (for no reason I can figure out). We've stopped doing any kind of playful biting with him like pretending to eat him. When he bites, we're trying to be super consistent about responding with just "ouch, no. No biting, biting hurts" and redirecting him. He generally gets cut off from nursing immediately if he bites since he's been biting hard enough to break skin. </p> <p>Hitting almost always occurs when he's excited. We try to calm him down (dark, quiet, soothing voice, deep breaths) or redirect to something where that kind of physical energy is ok (bouncy toys, going outside). We respond with "ouch! hands are not for hitting, hitting hurts"</p> <p>How long does it take to stop this kind of behavior? It is exhausting to be so careful about responding consistently. And it hurts. I have several bites with broken skin, one of my nipples scraped open a little bit from being pinched, I got a bloody nose from being head-butted. It feels really out of control. </p>