Well done.... i find it to be very effective. Unless shes shuving down her throught. One of the boys i babysit used to bite and i carried round an onion and would move it in fromt of his teeth when he tried. He hasnt done it since.

I would have a talk with her. My kids never had a problem with biting. But if they did, I would have told her how I would want it handled. If she choose not to listen to me and do her own thing, she would have a huge problem. Well on other things she has and did and now she never sees my kids.

I'd say good for you for having such a practical mom-in-law. Be thankful she prefers garlic to paddling. How does your husband feel about this?

I'd probably laugh. I use so much garlic in my cooking, it wouldn't be much of a punishment. A firm "no", a slap on the butt and a trip to the corner might do better.

An effective tool!! Children have to be taught not to bite and if that works, then it is better than some of the other options I've heard of, plus garlic is healthy.

i'd say, "No mom, she is not a vampire."

If it's working, I would thank your mother-in-law. It beats biting them back!

Well I would have expect that most of the people answering my question would see this as child abuse. I was surpise with the answers. It has made my mind view my issue differently, I would say from a more positive perspective. I was thinking my in-law was being mean. But I suppose she is just trying to stop my daughter's biting habit.

What I would probably say is stick it in your ear and remove my child from her care, but that is me. Frankly, if your daughter is a biter what are you doing about it yourself? I can certainly understand her not wanting to baby sit if she is being bitten all the time and has no idea how you wish her to handle it. Were you aware your daughter was biting before your mother-in-law baby sat her or is this a recent event? Is it happening other places or just with your mother-in-law? Perhaps if this is unacceptable to you you could give her some alternative ways of dealing with it. And I hope your child isn't allergic to garlic, to punish a child using food, to me, is irresponsible.

I would laugh my ass off. That wouldn't do a damn bit of good for my daughter. She likes garlic. To her, it would be like rewarding her, especially if it's soft enough she can chew it. She would have to use something else if she expected to punish her. And if you think giving a kid garlic to stop a biting habit is abuse, you are WAY too sensitive about the subject. When I read you thought people would see it as abuse, I literally laughed myself silly. Hitting a kid is abuse. Giving them something isn't. The only time it is abusive is if the child is allergic to garlic and you give it knowing that. That is putting the child's health at risk and that crosses the line into abusive territory. Although I would opt for something the child didn't like if I wanted to use something like that to punish the child. As for whoever said to hit the kid and put them in the corner, be glad I don't know where you are and that I'm not a DFS worker. That is abusive and I can promise you it will backfire on you. Maybe not immediately, but when your kid kills you with a crowbar in your sleep, you can't say I didn't warn you. Besides, in some places they are trying to make it illegal.

Garlic is very healthy and a very good ingredient in food but if she gives it to your two year old child pure then it is dangerous, garlic is good for the heart and the blood flow but it causes burning in the stomach from a small child,it is too strong, say to her she should stop it now! YOU are responsible for your child,not her,she may take the responsibility for her Grandchild when your not there,but she has to respect your wishes as you are the Mother

i would speak my mind out to my mother in law if she did something i didn't approve to my child.

shoot, that stinks...hehe!

I would approach her nicely and tell her you request that she not do that again. If she refuses or gets hostile about it, I would find another babysitter. Good luck to you!

raw garlic is an antioxidant, it's good for you

That's abuse. I'd jump knee deep in her ass.