Twins are biting each other nonstop-what should I do?

Basimcha ↓

Thu, Jul 08 2010, 2:34 pm

My twins are 12 months and biting each others---when they play and one takes away the toy from the other one the twins bites him for taking the toy...this goes on all day. They both bite at different timings. However, one bites much for often. What should I do?

Motheroftwins

Thu, Jul 08 2010, 4:15 pm

I had the exact same problem with my twins. I was told to ignore it, to bite them back so that they see they hurt, etc. I discovered that they were teething, but at the same time they were frustrated and did not know how to express themselves when they got upset and that is why they started biting.
I basically put them in time out when the bit - separated them. Distracted them so that they forget. Keep reminding them that biting is not allowed, it hurts.
Dont worry, this is totally normal, they will grow out of it soon!

GreenEyes26

Thu, Jul 08 2010, 6:54 pm

I know that this is a real problem for you, but as soon as I saw the thread title I couldn't stop smiling. Cute little biting twin babies!! Is anything more adorable???

mommalah

Thu, Jul 08 2010, 7:04 pm

GreenEyes26 wrote:

I know that this is a real problem for you, but as soon as I saw the thread title I couldn't stop smiling. Cute little biting twin babies!! Is anything more adorable???

Yea, totally! The visual made me smile.

Fox

Thu, Jul 08 2010, 8:53 pm

mommalah wrote:

GreenEyes26 wrote:

I know that this is a real problem for you, but as soon as I saw the thread title I couldn't stop smiling. Cute little biting twin babies!! Is anything more adorable???

Yea, totally! The visual made me smile.

Me too!

I hate when people post responses just to say that they can't help the OP -- but I'm going to have join this group today! My twins (now 15) never bit each other, but your description brought back so many memories of all their little spats. Motheroftwins sounds like she knows what she's talking about -- just try to enjoy all the funny little things they do!

↑ Basimcha ↓

Thu, Jul 08 2010, 9:01 pm

Fox wrote:

mommalah wrote:

GreenEyes26 wrote:

I know that this is a real problem for you, but as soon as I saw the thread title I couldn't stop smiling. Cute little biting twin babies!! Is anything more adorable???

Yea, totally! The visual made me smile.

Me too!

Oh you bet I am enjoying every minute!! I am only concerned because one of the twins had pretty bad marks from the biting up his entire arm today---so was curious how to react to eat. Tnx and I do appreciate all responses.

↑ Basimcha

Thu, Jul 08 2010, 9:03 pm

Motheroftwins wrote:

They definetly do out of frustration. I did try timeout but it didnt look like he understood what I said. Do you think they are really understanding at that young age?

tovarena

Mon, Jul 12 2010, 8:10 am

Our twins also bit quite a lot around that age - also one markedly more than the other. There wasn't a huge amount we could do. But one thing thing that did help was after watching them closely for a while, we could sometimes anticipate when one was about to take a bite (a certain look plus frustration over getting to a toy first, etc.) and swoop in to remove a child. It helped avoid some of it. Mostly they just grow out of that phase (though even now, at almost 3, it happens occasionally). We didn't worry terribly because it was almost entirely limited to biting each other - almost never the other children in their day care. So it didn't seem to be a general matter of acting out.

In terms of timeout, we started time outs at about 17 or 18 months. We would pick up the child and put them in our lap facing away from us and count out loud. By then, they definitely understood as they would generally not repeat the behavior, especially after two or three in a very short time span. But much younger and our two, at least, would not have understood.

Tefila

Mon, Jul 12 2010, 8:43 am

B'h
As a mother of twins myself who went through this age perhaps I over reacted Confused

now a tad wiser, as long as they are not drawing blood, they will eventually outgrow it coz lets face it, it hurts. Usually this behaviour is more common in children not yet speaking. Hold in there they will outgrow it. Wink

RachelEve14

Mon, Jul 12 2010, 9:35 am

Mine bit each other also. One was a bigger offender than the other, and by 18 months it was mostly over. Just look back at this post in a few years when they are fighting over clothes and friends. You will miss the days they "only " bit each other.