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Hello Enamel!

 

I’ll interrupt my diatribe (parents who make other families feel guilty for feeding their children varied and normal (including occasional sugar!) diets), to report breaking news. Eva has a tooth!!! Oh thank goodness. I really thought we were going to have the youngest girl in the world wearing full dentures. It’s small and barely visible, but it’s there, by golly! As happy as we all are, this new development brings with it some risks to others. If you are a candy wrapper, forget it. Any child who can gum her way through paper and foil will certainly have no trouble ripping her way into a Cadbury bar with an incisor at her disposal. And then there is Zoe. Poor Zoe.

A quarter of toddlers are biters at some point in their lives. Just observing their relationship now, I’m pretty sure that both of them are going to sink their teeth into each other as soon as they can. I handed a rubber duck to Zoe yesterday and Eva literally threw herself on the floor, sobbing hysterically. Drama. Anyway, what are we going to do when they start drawing blood?
Step one: figure out why she bites. Attention? Frustration? Self-defense? Step two: try to spot the biter just before she loses it and get her out of there. (Lots of little ones will clench just before the chomp) Step three: firmly say, “NO!” and stick myself between the biter and the bitee. Step four (and probably the most important): don’t give lots of attention to the one with blood dripping from her fangs. What won’t I do? Bite back. That just reinforces the behavior. Plus most little ones who are going through a biting phase don’t really understand that they are causing pain to others. By the time they can cognitively make that leap, most have already outgrown their offensive behavior.
So poor Zoe. As the younger, currently edentulous member of our household, she’s probably going to be a bit of a chew toy for a while. We’ll just make sure Eva’s tooth is properly brushed (a washcloth is fine for that if I can’t find one of her 4 toothbrushes) and if she breaks the skin, I suppose we’ll be getting some antibiotics. Now as I am writing this, Zoe is engaging in her favorite attention-seeking behavior: shrieking and screaming, which I am trying to ignore. Heck. I’m half tempted to bite her myself.

 

Dr. Lara Zibners, Jul 20, 2010

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"WHAT I LIKED: This book is written in a funny, down to earth way that doesn't make you feel like an idiot. I really would have appreciated something like this when my kids were really little and I freaked out over everything they put in their mouths. It has a scenario/question and answer format, with clear answers on when not to panic and when to call 911."

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