My Biting Baby

Khaleeq went on a biting binge last week and I got called in by the principal. I think it is normal for kids his age to bite - they are in a phase, right? Aahh.. but hold your horses... He bit three victims in a day! 3 -THREE - TIGA!! That must be some kind of record in his playgroup.

My action plan? Number ONE: Call the parents of victim and apologize profusely. Number TWO: Get over to the playgroup and try to work out what to do with the teachers. Number THREE: Implement it at home.

I was instructed to put Khaleeq on time-out whenever he bites again. Just put him on a chair, away from the TV, toys and anything that he likes. Tell him that it is not a nice thing to do, it is not acceptable and he should not be doing it. Leave him there. If he decided to jump off the chair, put him back on again until his punishment time is up.

The next night, he tried to bite Khadra at home. So, I tried the time out thing. He was crying and wailing and covering his face with his hands and later putting his hands out begging to let him off the chair. I stuck my grounds even though it was pretty hard seeing that he looked so cute and adorable doing it. He knew that he was being punished and he didn't like it one bit. When time was up, I motioned him to come over to where I was. He literally jumped out of the chair, running to me. I hugged him and told him not to do it anymore, that it hurts and it is not an acceptable behaviour. He finished crying, gave me a little kiss and resumed doing whatever he was doing prior to time out. For the rest of the week, he was civil. No casualties at school. He even got a star for helping to clean up after play. :)

We were at Pondok Azlul last weekend and Khaleeq got three time outs. One for knocking his aunty and cousin with a maracas on the head, one for biting Teyta and one for slipping out of the house through the grills. He responded to the time out well the first two times. Come the third time out, he didn't seem to mind it at all. He was busy exploring the chair he was on, talking to himself (probably reenacting the incident before the time out, justifying why he shouldn't be there?), checking out the cuts he has on his feet, just possibly soaking up the undivided attention his dad and I was giving him at that moment. Tak boleh jadi, ni... So, we opened the door so that he had a little view of the happennings outside, make him realize what he was missing. Then, the wailing starts.. Hah, baru tau... Waited another 2 minutes before I beckoned him over.

The week started without incident and today, the dreaded sms from his teacher arrived.

Sorry to inform you, he did it again.. On Ella's shoulder, during lining up time.. He was standing behind her..

Aaahh... here we go again...

-dillz blogging out-