Biting Behavior
Many little ones go through the upsetting behavior of biting to the horror of their parents and concern of providers. You will find parents that are very understanding and willing to work with you and you will also have parents, usually of the child being bitten that will demand that the bitter be removed form day care.
It is a very frustrating time but usually you can calm everyone down by suggesting a few ideas to try and assuring them that you have some safety procedures in place that will help things work out for everyone. Biting isn’t funny, so no one should laugh. It should be discouraged from the first episode. If a baby bites while being held they should be put down and with a firm voice say, “No Bite.”
Figuring out why this child is biting helps give a better understanding to you and the parents. Keep a log of when they bite, whom they bite, what activities were they engaged in, and were there any signs of anger or frustration prior to the bite. Ask yourself if they need more attention or if you are being consistent enough. Do they need more chew toys? Is my group to large for the biters personality?
At six months to a year children are experimenting with touch, taste, and smell. It’s a learning process and they bite everything, sometimes people. During this period offer them lots of chewy and colorful toys to pick from. Freeze some of your rubber toys for them to chew on. This feels good on their gums if biting is due to teething.
The frustrated biter is a child who struggles with situations such as sharing toys or sharing attention from their peers or from you. Teach them to use their words, not their teeth, when they become frustrated. The inability to communicate before learning speech can be very frustrating so teaching sign language can be very helpful. Communication through sign language is beneficial even when biting isn’t an issue. If you see a child’s frustration level rising, step in, and give them words and choices to use. If the bite has already occurred explain that it hurts and is not allowed and then tend to the victim immediately.
The threatened biter bites in self-defense to regain control over their play area. Reassuring this child and helping him to express his wishes to his friends helps. I’ve seen them do it out of fear; even older children who have been hurt may resort to this to protect them selves.
The power biter is a child who needs to be in control and have independence. They are very quick to pick up on the response they get from biting and they quickly figure out whom they can control with a bite. Show them attention when they aren’t biting so they don’t need aggressive behavior to get the feeling of control.
When a child is bitten care for them by washing the wound with soap and water even if bitten through clothing. Use vinyl gloves if blood is present and fill out an accident report. Because the possibility of infection and disease exists it’s recommended that a doctor see any bite that breaks the skin.
Make playtime simple, rotate toys often, more supervision, and keeping the biter near you can help prevent some problems. Keep your eyes open and be ready to jump in quickly. Sometimes a quick, firm, verbal response to a situation can stop a bite just long enough for you to reach them. If children don’t normally hear a loud voice from you this will work very well.
Work with the parents, but remember the Data Privacy Law: You may not share the identity of those involved but it’s OK if they learn who was involved from their children. It’s recommended that the parents involved discuss it but the provider is to get written consent from the parties involved to share the information.
Good luck with this common childhood problem.
Patti Jo Lawrenz
pjltips@aol.com
