Children do bite! And… for all sorts of reasons.
Biting is a common and upsetting experience in all early childhood provision. It has a huge impact on everyone – the children, you and all of our practitioners! From time to time, we experience biting episodes at our gan; this can often be after children have settled into a new group, and are feeling more confident; and with our Toddler (Tiger) group in the summer term. Biting usually starts to occur after children are 1 years old, and reduces significantly as speech and language develop (by aged 2). When biting episodes do present, unfortunately, there is no magic cure and there is no-one to blame.
Toddlers bite for a variety of reasons and researchers tell us that it is a normal stage of development. We know that it frequently occurs in early childhood settings because of the age of the children and the additional demands placed on them by group care. No early childhood environment is immune and it occurs even with experienced, talented and dedicated practitioners and a high quality curriculum and development framework.
Toddlers use biting to explore and learn, communicate with others, get control of their world and release tension. Although biting may be part of normal development, it is not regarded as acceptable behaviour.
At Rainbow we take every instance of biting seriously. We have strategies to deal with biting and take the following action. We:
- anticipate and intervene where possible by observing and analysing the play environment
- do not punish biting behaviour
- let the child know that biting is unacceptable; with a firm voice and eye contact we remind children “no biting!”
- sometimes move the child who has bitten away from the immediate area that the biting took place, when this is appropriate
- comfort and give lots of attention to the bitten child
- teach alternatives to biting by talking about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ biting with the child, and
- teach other children how to protect themselves from being bitten.
- keep a log and record of all incidents of biting
When we have episodes of biting, it can be very stressful for everyone. We will do everything possible to ensure the safety of your child. Parents are always welcome to discuss biting with your child’s key worker, team leader or the nursery manager.
At Rainbow, our policy is for one team member to immediately comfort the child who has been bitten, and if required apply an ice pack to manage any bruising or swelling, and another team member
reminding them in a stern, but supportive voice “No Biting! We don’t bite our friends at nursery! Teeth are for eating with”. Sometimes children who have bitten may need just as much support and comforting as the child who was bitten. Where we see a pattern of the same child biting, then we start to keep observational records, and try to identify any triggers, we will discuss any situations with parents whenever they occur. This will usually be managed by the team leader and/or the child’s key worker.
Click here to download reasons why children bite and responses poster
Biting is most common at the toddler age group, when children are between one and two years old. There can be many reasons why children bite. Young toddlers often bite as a way of showing love. “Toddlers have really intense feelings but don’t know how to show them,” says Dirk Flower, chartered psychologist. “Biting can be a way of expressing their feelings. Biting on the face, is often a ‘misplaced’ or over emotional ‘kiss’, whereas biting another child’s hand can often be a sign of frustration. Staff at Rainbow try very hard to look out for signs and triggers so we can see if a bite is coming… but so often bites are VERY fast and there may be no warning signs at all.
Here are some links to articles on the internet which provide some useful insights!
Development of Emotional Language to Support biting
Strategies for preventing repeated biting in day care
A great guide to biting – why, how and what to do!
Tips for preventing biting – with a short video!
Here is a forum of daycare workers, linked to the EYFS website in the UK
Rainbow procedure for dealing with bites:
Facts
Human bites resulting in puncture or breaking of the skin are potential sources of exposure to blood borne infections. Animal bites can also transmit infection.
If a bite has punctured the skin then there can be a risk of infection from bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus and viruses such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. To reduce the risk of infection, treatment may be needed for the biter and recipient such as antibiotics or tetanus immunisations.
There is a risk of a blood borne virus, such as hepatitis B or HIV, being transmitted if the skin is broken and the risk is higher if there is blood in the biter’s saliva.
Procedure
All bites at the nursery must be referred to the first aider, who will assess whether the skin has been broken and the risk of infection. Where skin is broken, the first aider will contact the manager if they have any concerns regarding infection.
The BITE log must be completed and information surrounding the incident given to parents/carer on collection. We do not disclose to parents who has bitten their child. If the bite has broken the skin and here is a significant risk of infection, the incident must be reported immediately to the manager and parents/carer informed by telephone.
Staff dealing with bites will ensure that they:
- Clean the wound thoroughly under lots of running water and gently encourage bleeding
- Cover with a waterproof dressing
- Seek medical attention without delay if the skin is broken (ask parent/carer to go to GP or hospital depending on severity of the bite and extent of risk)
- Record details on BITE log, and inform parents/carers at collection, or before if it is serious
A chapter from a book – about biting! A nice read 😉