You are holding your baby and at once he takes your nose into his mouth. It might look like he wants to put your entire face into his mouth but, he stopped because it was too big. Some parents love this feeling, the feeling of their baby biting their nose and cheeks with his gums. It will not be fun if the baby has new teeth erupted. With a new tooth, your baby can be the “baby shark” that you have always sung about.
Whether you like the habit of face biting or not, you might have wondered why he does that. Your face is not something delicious to bite and taste all the time but your baby does that for a reason. Let us discuss what makes your baby interested in face biting and how to manage it if it is intolerable to you.
CONTENT
1. Why does my baby try to bite my face?
2. How to manage face biting in babies?
1. Why does my baby try to bite my face?
Biting and licking is how the babies explore the world at first. If they see something new and they can reach it, it goes directly to their mouth. Babies love to feel and taste objects with different colors, smells, and textures. When your face is close to them, they identify it as another object that they can explore. His mind will guide him to put the mommy’s nose in his mouth and bite.
Between the age of 6-12 months, your baby will be interested in observing the cause and effect phenomena around them. You will now think how face-biting can relate to cause and effect. When your baby bites your cheek or nose, you might have made a little screeching sound or laughed out loud. The baby will repeat this face-biting behavior just to observe how you react to it. Is not it fun when a big human makes a funny noise each time you bit her face?
In addition to the explorations, babies will bite your face when they are teething. They will bite anything to relieve the pain that comes as the teeth erupt through their gums. But, toddlers will bite your face or body for very different reasons. Toddlerhood is when your little one starts to feel big feelings. When they do not have words or other methods to express their feelings, they will come out as aggressive behaviors of biting, pinching, or hair pulling.
If your toddler has seen someone else engaging in these behaviors, he might also try that. Toddlers are good at imitating the behaviors they observe in their surroundings. An overtired and hungry toddler is more likely to bite you more than a relaxed and well-rested toddler. Young toddlers need more active play, and biting your face can be a sign that you need to engage him in more activities.
2. How to manage face biting in babies?
We have discussed why babies bite your face. There is no reason to hold your baby from face biting if he is below 12 months of age. In case you do not feel comfortable about your baby biting your face, there are few things that you can do.
Do not scream, make funny noises or laugh when your baby tries to bite your face. It will excite him and encourage him to repeat the behavior. If your baby is older, say no with a serious face. Gently pull away from your face from his mouth when the baby is biting you. It will make him understand that you do not want him to continue the biting behavior.
If the baby bites your face again, respond by pulling away your face from his mouth. Consistency is important to make a baby understand what to do. Do not forget to reward your baby with a kiss or a cuddle as soon as he stops biting your face.
If your baby is teething and tries to bite you to relieve his pain, offer him an alternative. You can offer him a teether, teething biscuits, breastmilk popsicles, or frozen washcloths to soothe his gums.
When a toddler shows face-biting behavior, figure out why he is doing that. Toddlers can understand so, explain to them that face biting is not a good habit and it is better to stop that behavior. Every time your toddler bites your face, give him a firm no. Toddlers bite to seek attention. If this seems to be the case, move away from your child without responding to the behavior.
Most of the time, toddlers bite when they cannot express their feeling. Therefore, it is always a wise option to teach the kids to name his feeling from a very young age. Being overtired and hungry can also be a reason to make a toddler bite your face. Offer the meals on time and let him have a proper nap at a fixed time every day to check whether biting behavior fades away.
