This is the face of a biter.

Innocent, no?

No.

This darling nephew of mine is a psychotic biter demon. I love him desperately, but he's going through a rather unpleasant phase - specifically he bites Ivan ALL. The. Time.

Apparently the biting is perfectly normal; especially for a second child (which is, for all intents and purposes, what Max is). In fact, the Android says his sister was a biter when they were young. Still, it's disturbing.

Max's M.O. goes something like this: 1) creep up behind Ivan with his teeth bared and his fingers in the air like Dracula, 2) Grab Ivan's shoulders, 3) Bite. Hard. It's not just the back biting, Max also has a taste for chubby wrists and the occasional forehead.

Poor Ivan has a bit of a complex now. Anytime Max comes up behind him, even for a hug or a playful pat, Ivan arches his back and whimpers. So sad.

Getting Max to stop is slow going. I'm teaching the Czar to use his words and say "NO!" but I fear the only way this will be resolved is if someone whacks someone else across the head in retaliation.



Not that I would condone this.


My ECFE teacher says he'll grow out of it, and one of the other moms in the class gave me this helpful piece of advice: if he won't let go just pinch his nostrils together so he has to open his mouth to take a breath. She sounded like she had experience in these matters so I think perhaps I've got it easy for the moment.