It's happened to everyone . Either we are parenting one or we've had an unfortunate encounter with the special variety of little terror known as The Biter.

Mine will, when she's pissed at me, actually grab my arm and try to bite it (which buys her a immediate trip to the time-out step, I might add).  She's three and not gifted with extraordinary impulse control. She's also been the bite-ee, when a girl who is now one of her best friends started at her school and my daughter had the unfortunate experience of grabbing a toy she wanted.  

Aaaannnndd maybe just maybe I clearly remember biting my brother so hard when we were little I broke the skin.
So it's not something I tend to flip out about, although I don't look the other way either. And I have been validated by this story in The Age, out of Australia.

In addition to quoting the awesomely named Ulrich Fegeler, spokesman for a Munich-based pediatricians association, the article says that for young kids, biting is usually an expression of frustration. Positive reinforcement – praising them when they are nice or share – can help. So can not saying negative things about the kid doing the biting, but letting them know its unacceptable and hurts people. Often, they don’t even realize it hurts because it doesn't cause them pain.
If your child is aggressive and persistent with the biting, talk to their pediatrician, the article says, but otherwise not to worry.  

Photo: lemonysnicket.com