Teeth Are Not for Biting (Board Book)

This is a book I bought to start reading to our son, who has some specialized needs. He had a dental procedure a few months ago that seems to have set off some of his sensory issues and changed the way things feel in his mouth in ways he's been struggling a little to adapt to. Totally not the fault of his dentist, it's one of those things that can be hard to avoid and difficult to always predict when you have a child with a sensory processing disorder. Anyways, we had a couple of books from this series that we used with our daughter when she was little, though not this one, so I was familiar enough with the series to have a general idea of what I was getting. I really like how this book opens by talking about how strong and sharp teeth are, mentions the approved of use, and then goes right into biting hurts. I like that the expression on the injured child's face is clear enough that my son can interpret her as both crying and clearly in distress. He has Autism as well, so sometimes it can be pretty hard for him to pick up on those types of cues unless they are very dramatic or emphasized. Because our son is 5, some of the sections of the book don't apply to him as much, because it spends a couple of pages talking about how many teeth a child will have when they grow in and that biting isn't an appropriate response to teething pain. I kind of adlibbed in this section and added how dental work can also cause discomfort that can make you want to bite. And you totally can't bite the dentist ;) I really like that this book gives strategies for replacing chewing, most of which are things he's willing to do -except rest... we don't really do resting in this house ;) I like that this book then goes on to explain how emotional things can cause a person to want to bite, because sometimes for him, he gets overloaded and tries to bite because the compression on those joints helps to calm him down, and then emphasizes that we don't bite for those reasons because it hurts others. I am a super big fan of the fact that this book drums in the "why" over and over again, because for our little man, he may understand what you want him to do, but unless you can get him to understand the "why," he's less likely to cooperate with you. This section is again followed by some strategies that he can again use, although for him it's via his speech computer when it comes to that whole "use your words" thing. Then the book talks about how it feels like if someone bites you and goes on to coach that we do not bite back even if we are bitten, we get help from a grown up, and then ends on a final reminder about teeth not being for biting and a final positive use (smiling). I feel like even though this book has a few areas that aren't as applicable to us at this time (teeth coming in), they may be as he gets old enough to loose teeth in the next couple of years. I like how thorough and repetitive this book is, and think it's a great social story resource for a kiddo who may be going through a biting phase. I don't anticipate that this alone will entirely solve our problem, it's part of a more comprehensive approach that involves the Wilbarger oral protocol, subbing in vibrating teethers when he leans in to try and bite me, and redirecting him frequently to appropriate chewers. I'm also trying to teach him how to chew gum, but that's going to be a longer process because currently, he doesn't want to touch that. But I think this will be a helpful support to us, he's already been looking at it as I read it to him, and I believe it could be a helpful support for your kiddo as well.

Between the ages of 15 months and 20 months, my daughter was a biter. She bit her little friends at school and us. I was very distraught over this and desperate for a way to help her to understand that biting hurts people and that it's not appropriate behavior. One day I noticed this book at her daycare (Montessori)--and thought it would be helpful for us to have the book at home to help promote the concept that biting people wasn't a good thing to do. Well it worked--the book is superb in delivering this message to a very young toddler! The book illustrations are wonderful and the words are simple and easily understandable for very small toddlers. I liked how the book examples completed the circle of understanding for toddlers--that yes, your teeth hurt and yes you may be frustrated by something--but there are other ways of expressing those feelings besides biting. I also liked that the book illustrates compassion for the people who are being bitten in the examples by emphasizing that biting hurts other people. This book was an excellent tool for us as parents. If she bit us--we would tell her that it hurt, say "teeth are not for biting" (the phrase from the book) and then read this book to her. It really helped her to get over biting--and quickly too!! She improved right away and had completely stopped biting about 2 months after we started this routine. I credit this book with helping her to stop biting people and to understand that "teeth are not for biting". We also have two other books in the series--"Hands are Not for Hitting" and "Feet are Not for Kicking". These books were also equally superb as parenting tools for us to help us quell undesired, but natural, toddler behavior.

Highly recommend this book and the "Best Behavior Series" that this book is a part of. Our pediatrician told us that developmentally, biting happens, but it's obviously something that will need to be addressed. So we actually for a time read this book every night and we’d all together enthusiastically say the phrase on each page “teeth are not for biting!” Our toddler started to memorize the book and loved to say the phrase on their own when we read together. We'd sometimes read the words of it in the car on the way to preschool. (Easy book to memorize). The book is really positive and explains the functions of teeth in a way that’s engaging. We also worked on trying to give phrases our toddler could use when upset - that our toddler could go to the teacher and say “I’m mad because -“ The Daniel tiger “I’m Feeling Mad” book helped because it went over how to handle anger when someone takes a toy or some other relatable thing for a toddler.

My daughter is in daycare and had repeatedly been bitten by another child. I know it can be somewhat normal at their age but my daughter was starting to make attempts at home after repeatedly seeing it/feeling it at daycare. We started reading this book and all of that stopped. She now is able to verbalize to the biting offender that biting hurts and you should bite food not friends. Great book and a great series!

文章は短いですが、大切な事が凄い伝わってくる絵本です。

It's a really effective book. It doesn't have some great story with a moral or something. It's just a simple book with a clear message for young toddlers that biting is not okay. Message is repeated enough times with simple illustrations. It teaches babies alternatives to biting as well. Adults may feel the book is not engaging enough but my baby of under 2 years of age actually stopped biting after repeated readings of this book. So definitely the book got something right!

This book is exactly as described and exceeded my expectations. It’s well-made, easy to use, and arrived quickly. I’ve been reading it regularly to my grandchildren and it’s made a noticeable difference. Great quality for the price—would definitely recommend!

Mon fils adore ce livre qui lui permet de développer son vocabulaire en anglais et ça l’a aussi sensibilisé sur le fait de ne pas mordre ses copains de la crèche.

Love this book, and so does our 18 month grandson. He's bit mummy a couple of times, so I thought I'd give a book a try. Good tone. Explains how one may want to bite, but why one shouldn't. Its simple message of, 'ouch, biting hurts' is repeated throughout. I think books are a great way to send a message because there can be no hint of a power play. Introduced this book last week at our house, and he wanted it read to him again and again! Zero biting afterwards! It obviously left an impression on his little mind!