Spitting is a habit which can never be a matter of pride for the parents of the cute kids. However, if moms can practice some dos and don’ts with their little ones, they can get rid of this yucky practice in no time. Let us take a look at some of the ways to deal with this habit.
Be patient with the child
When the cute one starts spitting, tie a hanky around his neck and ask him to spit in that or just take him to the sink and wash his face. It needs a lot of patience to deal with such situations, but if you do it regularly, the child can develop the habit for this and he may forget to spit at your face or on the floor. Telling him not to spit on the floor or at someone’s face is of no use as every child is lured to do the thing from which he is prevented. You can also take help of the Teddy or the Barby and can place a bowl in front of them and ask them to spit in that. Just repeat the action for a number of times and your child may feel jealous and can come to you and ask for a bowl to spit.
Explore the reason
Most of the children under the age of four typically spit in order to express their feelings and emotions. This happens because young children are not capable in expressing their emotions as they lack in the self control and verbal abilities to do so, and that is why they try to express things physically. However, children who are above four use spitting to get attention, to control their parents or as a sign of aggression. There are several other reasons behind such behavior. For instance, spitting may be a way of acting out for a child who is stressed or is dealing with new people, or has recently witnessed some other major change in his life. Observe who they are spitting on, when they spit and your reaction to their behavior as this can provide important clues as to why they may be doing this.
Divert the child’s attention
Whenever your little one is in a mood to spit, ask him to jump, jump and jump. Or start playing hide and seek with him or dance. All these activities can divert his attention from spitting. Though it is a little bit difficult for you to do such things in a social gathering, yet you can at least take your child away from the place and show him something in which he can get interested. Spitting is a dis-respectable behavior and your child would be alienated from his friends and family if he persists in doing so. Yet this type of behavior does not prolong and can vanish within a short time. So hope for the best and don’t lose your temper.
Ignore him completely
Ignore when your baby starts spitting and break off so that he would feel insecure. Don’t offer him food or drink once or twice and watch. Ask his friends not to play with him. This can be of great help as he would feel that something is wrong. He may cry or spit more and more. Yet handle the situation firmly so that he can learn a lesson. Just tell him that you are not going to talk to him or play with him until he stops repeating this nasty habit. You can also scare him with some cello tape. Tell him that you are going to paste it on his mouth and he would never be able to spit.
Ask your child to apologize
The first thing that you should do when your child spits on somebody is to ask him to apologize for their behavior and clean the spittle. However, make sure that you do so in a calm and balanced way. If your child agrees to apologize and clean up, hand them a piece of cloth for cleaning and explain to them that spitting is not an acceptable way of expressing emotions. But, it may be the time to define some sort of punishment if your child refuses to apologize. The punishment could be anything like a time out in their room or removal of privileges.
Leave the situation immediately
According to experts, you should leave the situation immediately. This will help in showing the consequences of spitting to your child. Tell your child that his/her action has disappointed you and now you prefer to spend some time by yourself rather than spending with him/her. Take a break and find a quite room in your house. And when you come out, tell your child that you do not want to be around a child who spits and neither his friends will like his company.
