Toddler biting himself and leaving marks

Has he ever been evaluated for autism or other disorders? If not, I would definitely mention this to his pediatrician & see about having him evaluated, just be sure. My 7 year old goddaughter is autistic & sometimes when she has meltdowns she starts hurting herself, and sometimes even hurts her mother (my bestie). She’ll scream, bite, hit, scratch, kick... my bestie has to restrain her by holding her sometimes just so she doesn’t hurt herself.

So true for most tantrums you should ignore, except when a child is at risk including from themselves. Move him to a safe place. Perhaps and area with pillows or a bean bag chair something like that. Ignore behaviour that is annoying but not harmful.Use short concise sentences and stop any hurtful behaviours. You can hold both his hands at his side get on his level and calmly and firmly tell him firmly No Biting. There are safe ways to restrain a child such the basket hold (look up on YouTube) if he is truly at risk of hurting himself it might be something to look into although I would use it as a last resort type thing. It’s not ideal but it’s safe. If he bites himself and won’t let go push into the bite. For example he bites his arm and won’t release. Push his arm into the bite this will make him let go. Identify his triggers. What causes the tantrums? Is it transitions? Boundaries? Is it a sensory issue (look up sensory processing). Some other helpful strategies to avoid tantrumsUse visuals so your child knows what coming next (you can find on Pinterest or even better take your pictures)Use short phrasesOffers choices when there is a choiceDo not offer a choice when there is no choice for example do not ask do you want to come get your diaper changed? It’s not a choice.Use a visual timer to let your child know “2 more minutes, one more minute ect then time for a diaper or whatever the task is (App Store has visual timers for iPads)If the self harming continue’s discuss with your doctor.