Bite Me!
I am ANGRY. Pissed. Appalled.
I am not going to censor myself, and honestly, if I lose readership over it, I do not care because a blog that gets read for me saying what you want to hear isn't a blog I care to keep and maintain.
I have read and heard, recently and on several occasions, the following advice, "Flick the baby in the mouth when they bite you [while nursing]!!"
I do not agree. I wholeheartedly disagree. I think it is cruel and highly inappropriate.
Does it hurt when your child bites you, especially while nursing? Yes! Does it give you a gut reaction, a reaction based out of pain? Yes!
Infants do not bite out of a desire to hurt their parents. A baby bites because she is learning about these new strange object in her mouth. She doesn't understand the purpose or function of these sharp little teeth until she tries to use them. Will flicking the infant in the mouth stop the behavior? Sure. You know what else stops the behavior? Breaking the latch and stopping nursing. And repeating that action over and over until the baby learns, "When I use these things, I don't get to eat..."
I believe in teaching our babies and children with respect. To me, to intentionally flick my child in the face to teach her to stop biting while nursing is inexcusable.
And even when a child is no longer an infant and going through the "biting phase" as many children do, I do not believe in biting them back. (Note: In my college coursework, we were taught that laws to protect children include biting as a form of abuse).
Case in point. About 2-3 months ago, I was rocking sweet little Ayla after our bedtime story routine, when all of a sudden-for no reason at all-she leans down and chomps me on the breast. I yelped because, well, it hurt! Did I bite her? No. Did I flick her? No! I held her hands in mine, looked into her eyes, and I told her, "We don't bite. Biting hurts Mommy. We hug." For the next several days, she would look at me, shake her head "no" and say, "Hit," meaning "no, we don't hit." Then she would say, "Hug" while nodding her head, smiling.
She hasn't bitten me since, nor has she bitten anyone else.
So when I say, "I would never flick my infant in the mouth," I mean it. To each their own, but I don't have to agree with a parenting method I find offensive and disrespectful.
I am not going to censor myself, and honestly, if I lose readership over it, I do not care because a blog that gets read for me saying what you want to hear isn't a blog I care to keep and maintain.
I have read and heard, recently and on several occasions, the following advice, "Flick the baby in the mouth when they bite you [while nursing]!!"
I do not agree. I wholeheartedly disagree. I think it is cruel and highly inappropriate.
Does it hurt when your child bites you, especially while nursing? Yes! Does it give you a gut reaction, a reaction based out of pain? Yes!
Infants do not bite out of a desire to hurt their parents. A baby bites because she is learning about these new strange object in her mouth. She doesn't understand the purpose or function of these sharp little teeth until she tries to use them. Will flicking the infant in the mouth stop the behavior? Sure. You know what else stops the behavior? Breaking the latch and stopping nursing. And repeating that action over and over until the baby learns, "When I use these things, I don't get to eat..."
I believe in teaching our babies and children with respect. To me, to intentionally flick my child in the face to teach her to stop biting while nursing is inexcusable.
And even when a child is no longer an infant and going through the "biting phase" as many children do, I do not believe in biting them back. (Note: In my college coursework, we were taught that laws to protect children include biting as a form of abuse).
Case in point. About 2-3 months ago, I was rocking sweet little Ayla after our bedtime story routine, when all of a sudden-for no reason at all-she leans down and chomps me on the breast. I yelped because, well, it hurt! Did I bite her? No. Did I flick her? No! I held her hands in mine, looked into her eyes, and I told her, "We don't bite. Biting hurts Mommy. We hug." For the next several days, she would look at me, shake her head "no" and say, "Hit," meaning "no, we don't hit." Then she would say, "Hug" while nodding her head, smiling.
She hasn't bitten me since, nor has she bitten anyone else.
So when I say, "I would never flick my infant in the mouth," I mean it. To each their own, but I don't have to agree with a parenting method I find offensive and disrespectful.
Comments
Post a Comment