My 4-year-old is biting at school. How to make him stop?

Question

I have a 4-year-old child. In the last month, he has bitten 2 kids. He's a loving child, but very strong willed, impatient and has difficulty taking turns. I've read a lot, and done everything: positive reinforcement, ignore minor misbehavior, have special time one-on-one sessions frequently. It has worked to a certain extent in the sense that his behavior has improved but not as much as I'd like.

He's in a program for 4-5 months where they taught me all about positive reinforcement, one-on-ones, etc. Hence, his improvement. However, I'm worried about the biting coming back. I'm looking for a psychologist so that he can be seen. I'm desperate. I don't want him hurting other children and I want him to be able to have a positive experience at school.

I feel frustrated as a mother because nobody knows how much I talk to him and all the things I do and still his behavior. What other approaches can I take to stop this issue?

Answer 1

I know this won't be a popular answer, but it worked when my friends three year old was biting. Sometimes natural consequences is the best teacher.

My daughter, the same age, had had enough. While we were driving out for some activity, so I was unable to respond without parking the car, instead of screaming for help and letting the adult take care of it, she bit back, instantly, and hard. That "phase" that the parents had been fighting for six months was ended in about 6 seconds. The girls were friends until they drifted apart in their teens.