Biting Policy

Biting is a common behavior among children birth to three-years-old in-group care. Every effort will be made to determine the reasoning or the function behind the biting behavior so that we can try to figure out what teachers and parents can do to teach the child more appropriate responses than biting. Children bite for many different reasons. Some of the reasons include, but are not limited to, exploration, teething, investigating cause and effect, attention, frustration in expressing needs or wants , becoming independent, learning to play with other children, anxiety, or feeling threatened by new or changing situation.

When biting occurs, teachers will record incidents and document observations to better understand the context before and after a bite (where, when, how, who), as well as noting when the behavior is absent. Teachers will also note the location and availability of staff during the incident to ensure proper supervision is taking place. As staff members are working to better understand why the child is doing the behavior, they will work to be proactive in striving to prevent future incidents.