Preschool biting policy

[Anonymous]

My child's preschool class has a biter. My child hasn't been bitten but others have and it sounds like the teachers have to reign the biter in most days. My kid now talks about biting at home and seems a little fixated on it. The school only told the parents of the girls who have been bitten but I heard through the grapevine. I can't find a policy at our school so I'm wondering how most schools handle it. I'm concerned because it seems like this one child is very disruptive to the class and apparently the bites are pretty severe.

[Anonymous]

No one on here can tell you your schools policy. Please ask your director

[Anonymous]

Very true. I kind of feel like I need to stay out of it because my child hasn't been bitten so I'm just curious what others have experienced. I'm really troubled by it but wonder if I may be overreacting.

[Anonymous]

I'm guessing the biting policy is no biting.

I don't think you are out of place is asking the teacher or director about it.

"I had heard there were some biting incidents in the classroom. Larlo has been talking about biting a lot at home and I just wanted to make sure he isn't instigating it."

Clearly, they will notify you if your son is bitten. But if you want a little more information on how they are handling it in the classroom that would be my opener.

[Anonymous]

As the PP states, the biting policy is probably "no biting". In my experience, it's handled on a case by case basis. If you are worried I think it's fine to ask. Sometimes when one child bites, others get inspired to give it a try, so talk to your child about why it's not acceptable. But, depending on the age of the kids, it is pretty common so I wouldn't be too worried.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes kids bite. Most grow out of it. OT helped a biter at my kids school. Had sensory processing issues. Biters are not necessarily mean kids to kick out after three strikes.

[Anonymous]

Varies by program...

I have a friend whose child (barely a year old) was kicked out of daycare after three strikes, which was very frustrating for friend's parents because at that age, you really can't do much to help your kid "get it" and they will likely grow out.

On the other hand, I have a 2 year old with a biter in LO's class last year. Parents ended up wanting to move biter to a different program and the difference in my LO since the biter left has been dramatic. No more talking about biting and much happier.

Such a tough situation for everyone involved-- directly or indirectly. I recommend following your instinct to stay out of it.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the responses. The kids in the class are newly turned or almost 3 and this strikes me as too old for biting. My daughter loved this school last year and now doesn't want to go and I think the biting/aggressive behavior has something to do with it. I would feel better if I knew the child was in OT or something but I only know what I hear from other parents and my daughter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the responses. The kids in the class are newly turned or almost 3 and this strikes me as too old for biting. My daughter loved this school last year and now doesn't want to go and I think the biting/aggressive behavior has something to do with it. I would feel better if I knew the child was in OT or something but I only know what I hear from other parents and my daughter.

For all you know, the kid IS in OT. You just aren't privy to his private medical information.

[Anonymous]

Our center's policy on biting, in full:

Biting is a common and natural phase that many children go through as part of their development. Center staff must immediately respond to all biting incidents in order to maintain a safe and nurturing environment for all children in our care. For each instance of biting, teachers will calmly remove the child who bit from the situation, verbally reinforce that biting is not ok, and redirect the child to another activity. The teachers will focus on comforting the child who was bitten. Once all children are calm, teachers will prepare an incident report for both the parents of the bitten child(ren) and the biting child, without identifying the other child(ren) involved. Teachers will also strive to shadow any child prone to biting to try to identify possible triggers and to help the child deal with such triggers before they prompt biting behavior.

While Center staff will do what they can to minimize biting, additional action will sometimes be necessary for persistent biters or serious bites. If a child bites another child 3 times without breaking the skin on the bitten child(ren) in any one day, then the child will be sent home for the remainder of the day. If a bitten child’s skin is broken due to a bite, the biting child will be sent home immediately, even if it is the first offense of the day. The teacher(s) and Center Director will schedule a meeting with the parents of any child sent home for biting to discuss further techniques for addressing the behavior. If a child’s biting persists after he or she returns to school and after consultations between teachers, Director and parents, and the biting behavior is adding significant and undue stress on the other children in the classroom and the overall classroom environment, then it may prove necessary to terminate the student’s enrollment. Any such removal will follow the process established in Article IV, Section 4 (Suspension and Removal) of the Center’s By-Laws.