Biting Search

I decided to check the blog stats to see who has been viewing the blog and how often. I like to check on those things every now and then just for the heck of it. I came across a funny finding. Someone was referred to Landon's World by searching "bite-himself on his arms" in a web search. I don't know why, but I found this to be funny. I guess Landon wasn't the only toddler to bite himself on the arms! Thankfully, this stage has been long gone. I actually forgot all about Landon having a biting stage until I saw it pop back up on here. So to the person searching for answers on how to get your child to stop biting themselves, rest assure that it will stop on its own time. Boy am I glad that I no longer have to deal with this. Once Landon was able to properly express himself through words, then he stopped biting himself on his arms.

I love being able to read through the blog and remember the little stages of Landon's life that I would have other wise forgotten about. This is going to be a great time capsule of sorts when we're older.

Biting and Pinching

I really wish I knew what was going through Landon's head. It sure would make life a lot easier at times to know what he was thinking and wanting. Lately, Landon has been biting himself whenever he gets mad or upset. Whenever I tell him "no" he seems to bite himself as a way to get out of trouble. He really bites down too. He will continually bite himself on his arms and hands until he is bruised or bleeding. I have never seen anything like it. I just wish he would stop. He has bruises on his hands from it. I brought it up to his doctor on Wednesday and even she said that it wasn't normal behavior. She said that most toddlers will bang their head into the wall when they are upset, but they will stop once they realize that it hurts. Landon does not stop biting himself when it hurts. He will keep at it until he's crying and then he will show me the marks that he made to himself and want me to comfort him. It doesn't stop at biting either. He will also pinch himself and smack his hand into something hard enough to make his hand hurt. If he throws something onto the floor or pulls something out that needs to put away then I will tell him to pick it up. If he doesn't want to pick the item up then he will hit the item repeatedly with his hand until he hurts his hand. If Landon wants something from me and I am unable to guess what he wants in a timely manner then he will pinch his arms and start crying. I just wish Landon would learn to express himself in other ways that don't include self mutilation. I don't know how to fix this. If I ignore his behavior then he will bite me, but if I hug him while he is biting himself then it seems to only re-enforce his behavior. I wish there was an easy fix for this. Unfortunately, I don't think there is. Let's hope that he outgrows this stage on his own and sooner rather than later.