Biting/hitting when excited?

by Lyn
(California)

My son is 2 1/2. I have had many issues with him since he turned a year old. He hit all his milestones within "normal" range, but I have always always felt like something wasn't right. I've spoke to the pediatrician but get blown off saying it's behavior and discipline. I even expressed my concern of sensory issues.




My son has no regulation of emotion. He is extremely active and cannot sit still. In public, he goes from extremely friendly to screaming melt down because someone looked at him or "it's too loud". Noise is HUGE. I can tell he's getting worked up because he'll hold my hand and start swinging himself, hanging on me. He won't wear clothes and often sits crying all.day.long. I could go on and on...

I know a lot of these could be SPD or high sensitivity but is biting and anxiety part of this too or is this something different? Is this not SPD at all?

I can't play with him because when he gets excited he will suddenly punch me in the face or bite me until I bleed. When he starts getting excited, he giggles and kicks and punches. He's not being mean, but it's almost like he's so full of emotion that he's got to get it out somehow. He bites his nails down until they hurt and he seems to worry about everything or everything bothers him, cue excessive crying!!

I'm so incredibly frustrated and tired of being told I need to discipline him more or need parenting classes. Someone please tell me I'm not crazy. That this isn't "normal" behavior...

Thanks



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Nov 22, 2021
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starstarstarstarstar 		Intense excitement
by: Anonymous

Alright so I'm 11 so I'm not sure of all of this biting stuff but I get excited really easily and when I do I always make really fast hand movements, bite , hit all of the sorts. Most of the time I bite my pillow or something soft for a while to calm down.

I know it's not just me who does this, I don't know anyone like this but I know this is a sort of way to express all of the excitement . Maybe because I do all of this biting is because I get so excited over that one thing and I think of it over and over again until that excitement feeling is so strong that I'm hyper and need to get rid of all the tension and calm down .

Like I said I don't know much about this.but you need to figure out something that might easily calm him down ,because whenever he is in that crazy excitement mood you can do whatever that is to calm him down and do that so.
Jan 05, 2020
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starstarstarstarstar 		My Grandson
by: Anonymous

Thank you very much as you are also describing my grandson aged 4
Sep 08, 2018
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starstarstarstarstar 		why your child may bite
by: Anonymous

I suspect that the poor darling can't clear his hormones well. When we get excited or angry certain hormones rise in the blood stream. Our ability to break them down and clear them out of the body is dependent on our genetic make-up, constitution and dietary factors.

I would recommend supporting the liver-- ensure good activated b vitamin intake-- activated forms, and enough water, vitamin c rich foods or supplement, and enough protein. Cal-D- Glucarate can help the liver break down hormones and clear them. Milk Thistle may help support the liver.

If this doesn't help, then I heartily recommend getting an organic acids test- and have a genetic methylation panel done. And see a good naturopathic nutritionist or ND.

I work with children and adults but recommend you see someone close to you....sensory processing has biochemical aspects that can be supportive.
Nov 04, 2017
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Same feeling
by: Bridget Bezuidenhout

I mean I'm not a child expert because I'm only 13, but that's besides the point. I wouldn't know if this is normal or not, I actually came to this website to see if it is a normal behavior to have.

The reason for this is, that when I get exited I want to bite something so I just grab a pillow and bite in it till I've calmed down. I would also start hitting things and then when I'm not satisfied, I start biting things. I'ts always biting.

Keep in mind that this has nothing to do with the way you raise your kid, I believe that it might be a way that some people express their excitement. That you can't stand having all this energy and you need to just, do something about it. These people who hit, kick, and bite, just need to express it another way.

Apart from this it can also be a Singh that your kid might be aggressive... I know because I am a very aggressive kid and in order to calm myself from the excitement, I have to bite, kick, and punch something.
Jul 12, 2017
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Crazy behaviors
by: Anonymous

My daughter's behavior sound exactly the same. She has sensory issues since birth.

She had always been a little "off", she could not sense emotion of others, would get so excited that she could not control herself: uncontrollably laughing, kicking, falling, crashing, biting. Couldn't sit still. Would get overwhelmed in loud, crowded situations. Was always flaking everywhere, crashing into things.

We finally found out that she has ADHD. A lot of sensory things go hand in hand with ADHD. My daughter has so much information coming in, she often can't slow down enough to understand social norms, behaviors, interactions and feelings.

When put in a loud or crowded situation, or with sensory overload she gets completely overwhelmed trying to take it all in and will meltdown. Also, when shes tired she will go into crazy mode. No controlling her, just out of control emotionally, which is when the lauging biting kicking occurs.

She seems to not understand how her behaviors make other people feel (that hurts mommy, mommy is angry that you bit me etc) I think because she will miss a lot of the social cues. It's is completely overwhelming as a parent. There is literally nothing that I have found that works to control these behaviors. I have learned that punishments need to be immediate for kids with ADHD, but I struggle to find something that works.

It always seems like she has so much going on in her head that taking a toy away, stopping an activity etc has no effect since she can easily move to something else in her head and the punishment is long forgotten.

I don't think this really helped answer your question, but I have been there too and understand completely your feelings and frustrations. For me, none of her doctors or teachers could figure out what exactly was going on with her, but after meeting with a psychologist over 2 days we finally concluded ADHD and finally all of the puzzle pieces fit together and made sense.
Mar 31, 2016
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starstarstarstarstar 		SPD
by: Ashley

Our now three year old has SPD and she hits, kicks etc when she's happy. Our 2 year old boy bites ONLY when he gets super happy suddenly. He almost never hits. SPD differs from child to child and can be more or less severe in each. Both of my littles don't like strangers talking or even looking at them at times. I could go on and on but like others have said, look into resources in your area. The program in our state is "first steps". We've worked with a speech, development and occupational therapist for our 3 year old and it helped tremendously! So of course we will be doing the same with our 2 year old. SPD can be very difficult to manage but with help from the right resources it helps a ton! good luck!
Feb 17, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		Thank you!
by: Lyn

Thank you for responding! I think there are First Five programs here. I didn't realize it's free. I will definitely check that. Thank you!!
Feb 16, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		birth to three programs can evaluate
by: Anonymous

If your state/county has an early intervention program (often called a birth to three program), you can easily request a free evaluation by developmental specialists. Although scary, it may give a base for you and your family to move forward in identifying some of your son's challenges.

We have also experienced some of the frustrations you mentioned, terming the happy, energetic hitting as "love taps" since they happen at neutral times and are not in conjunction with anger. Our son is "hypo sensitive" so he craves deep pressure. With working with an OT on a home therapy program, we have been able to maintain a fairly successful "sensory diet" to introduce some deep pressure activities before he acts out. Once some kids get "excited" it is hard for them to settle down to a base line, so finding a coping technique for ALL OF YOU will be helpful.

Best of luck to you and I hope you keep asking the questions your son needs you to ask for him.
Feb 16, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		We had the same problem
by:

Before our grandson was diagnosed with spd, he went through a terrible period of biting. It mostly happened at daycare. He was 2 yrs old at the time. It was so bad we had to remove him from the class one day. Looking back (he's now 10) we feel it was due to frustration and over stimulation from being in a classroom with a bunch of 2 yr olds. He eventually stopped the behavior.

He has been having meltdowns at home so had him reevaluated by a psychologist who determined that he needs a plan to deal with his emotions in situations where there is too much stimulation. He's been getting OT since he was 3 which has helped tremendously. Seems to me you need to change pediatricians because he is not listening to you. I would have him evaluated by a child psychologist. She/he will determine if your son has any problems greater than just needing more discipline. If he does have spd, the sooner he gets occupational therapy, the better. Good luck:)

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