No Biting!

Policy, Practices and Tips!

Juliette Kula

Infant Toddler Specialist

YWCA Child Care Solutions

Biting in Daycare

• Why?

• What to do before and when it does happen?

• Ongoing Biting

• Working with Parents

• Staff

• Policy Development

• Resources

WHY DO THEY BITE?

3 categories of Causes for Biting

Developmental Issues

• Teething pain or discomfort • Developing oral-motor skills • Sensory exploration of the surroundings • Learning about cause and effect • Learning through imitating others • Developing a sense of space • Developing autonomy • Developing expressive communication skills • Needing more attention • Learning to hold on and let go • Developing sensory integration

Expression of Feelings

• Frustration

• Anger

• Tension

• Anxiety

Environmental Issues

• An environment that is too crowded and does not allow children privacy

• An environment that is too stimulating or not stimulating enough

• Inappropriate expectations (such as expecting toddlers to share toys or equipment)

• A rigid schedule that does not meet toddlers’ needs for food and sleep

PREVENTING BITING

Provide a Supportive Environment

• Have duplicates of new toys and popular toys to reduce frustration

• Keep popular toys available , but avoid overstimulation. Rotate toys ; store toys and put others away and switch out.

• Provide enough stimulation that is important to toddlers. This includes many positive, individual interactions with them.

• Provide small , private spaces where children can go to be alone.

• Provide several soft areas in the room. • Have safe materials visible and available at the

children’s level so they can use them without assistance

• Create a variety of activity centers to discourage toddlers from bunching up in one area

• Keep some areas and materials that the toddlers favor available all day

• Provide a menu that includes foods toddlers can gum ,munch , and chew.

Provide a Consistent yet Flexible

Schedule • Keep the daily schedule consistent, so it is

predictable for children • Simplify the daily routine and allow for flexibility

to meet the child’s needs • Talk with the children about unavoidable changes • Provide several opportunities for outside play • Keep waiting time to a minimum • Take time to go through the daily routine calmly,

and don’t rush children through activities or routines

Provide a Variety of Sensory

Activities and Materials • Provide a wide variety of soothing materials and activities • Provide activities and materials for oral stimulation and

practicing oral-motor skills • Provide many cause-and-effect toys • Provide opportunities for toddlers to put collections in

containers , walk around with , and dump again • Offer interesting materials and experiences instead of

teacher-directed activities • Offer adult-initiated activities that are spontaneous, short,

and optional! • Do not expect toddlers to sit for a formal circle time

Interact with Children Gently and

Empathetically • Show children what empathy looks and sounds like • Respond positively to children • Help children identify and name their feelings • Show and tell children how to use language to express

feelings and state their needs and wants • Encourage children to comfort themselves by using

transitional items • Comfort children with soothing voice tone and physical

action • Help children fix mistakes • Give attention in a generous and genuine manner

WHAT TO DO WHEN THEY BITE

You Want Your Words, Attitudes, and

Actions to Convey a Strong Message

• Biting is not the right thing to do

• You will help the child who was bitten feel better

• You will help the child who bit learn different, more appropriate behavior

Helping the Child Who Was Bitten

• Check the bite and give appropriate first aid • If she/he is scared or worried, separate her from

the child who bit her, even if it is just positioning yourself between the 2 children

• If she/he is furious and ready to retaliate, separate the children to prevent escalation

• If she/he is indignant, you might bring them together so she may express her outrage directly

• Help them with the language needed to express themselves

Helping the Child Who Bit

• Be genuine, brief, and serious

• Respond verbally and with action, even if the action is to redirect the child

• Verbal response must clearly state biting is wrong

• Use a genuine tone of voice

• Use language to express what they did

• DO NOT ‘make’ a toddler say I’m sorry.

• Redirection!

• No time-outs

• No saying “How would you like it …”

• Lecturing or going on a tirade

ONGOING BITERS

Observe the child

• When • Where • Whom • What was happening • The child’s reaction • The child’s social interaction skills • The child’s oral-motor skills • The child’s general personality • The child’s chronological age

• Consult with the parent

• Reflect on the program

• Develop a plan

STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES

RELATED TO DEVELOPMENT

Teething

• Check with parents what they are doing for pain

• Make sure you have objects to chew on

• Actively encourage biting of appropriate objects

Oral-motor development

• Provide many toys and materials that work by having children blow

• Provide materials specifically for children to gnaw on

• Provide foods with a variety of textures

Sensory Exploration

• Toys they can put in their mouth

• Sensory play

• Explore variety of textures, spaces, and places

Experimenting with Cause and

Effect

• Provide toddlers with plenty of cause and effect toys

• Offer materials which make colors or designs appear and disappear

• Help them understand with language

• When they bit help them with the language of when you did that…this happens

• Help them recognize the cause and effect of positive behavior

Imitating

• Provide many examples of positive behaviors

• Stop any play biting and make sure no other adults are doing this

Spatial Awareness

• Allow experimentation of space

• Create simple and safe obstacles for them to experiment with

• Help them become aware of others closeness

• Help by using yourself as a space awareness barrier

• Have the child sit at the end of a table , not middle

Emerging Autonomy :’ I do!’

• Opportunities to feel they are in charge of their choices

• Give them real choice

• Limit amount of choices to avoid over-stimulating

Expressive Language Development

• Always respond

• Name everything

• Put words to actions

• Have conversations with children

Need for Attention

• Give it to them

• Lavish them with it

• Notice and comment of acceptable behaviors

Holding On and Letting Go

• Give opportunities for holding and letting go

• Work on emotional letting go also

• Be aware it may not be a good time for potty training if a biter has this issue

STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES

RELATED TO EXPRESSING FEELINGS

Frustration and Anger

• Capitalize on need to imitate language

• Emphatic language

• Recognize the signs

Tension

• Observe for signs

• Help relieve the tension

• Step in and redirect

• Provide more gross-motor activities

• Try to go outside more often when able

Anxiety

• Reassuring language

• Calm atmosphere

• Make sure they can ‘get away’

• Help them self soothe

• Give plenty of time

• Soothe them

Excitement

• Encourage a variety of physical expressions of excitement

• Some have intense reactions all the time

Shadowing

• A last ditch technique

• Not dealing with environment, child, or problems

• Shows improvement then shadowing stops

• Better interactions with more then one child

IMPLEMENT THE PLAN

How?

• Decide on length of time

• Trial Period

• Evaluate Your Progress

• Share Your Plan With Parents

• Make Sure Staff is On Board

WORKING WITH PARENTS

How to Deal with Issues

• Different perspectives

• Common reactions

• Saying ‘NO’ to demands

• Responding well to bad advice

Helping the Parent of the Child

Who Has Bitten

• Do you have an idea ; share

• Innocent ‘play biting’

• Importance of language to use

• Encourage appropriate responses and interactions

Helping the Parent of the Child

Who is being Bitten

• Acknowledge and respect feelings

• Tell them how you will keep their child safe

• Tell them more of the strategy used for the behaviors

WORKING WITH PARENTS

Different Perspectives

• Come from different views

• They want it to stop

• They want to be heard

When it Comes to Biting

• Caregivers; • Are not surprised when

toddlers bite • Know that biting is not unusual

behavior for toddlers and does not necessarily indicate something is wrong

• Know toddlers bit for many reasons

• Know it takes some time for biting to stop

• Know they can’t guarantee there will be no more biting

• Parents • Are very surprised when

toddlers bite-sometimes even shocked

• Assume something must be terribly wrong either with the child or with the program when toddlers bite

• May see toddler biting as a deliberate act of aggression

• Believe that biting can be stopped quickly and easily

• Believe biting can be “guaranteed against”.

Parents Common responses

• Concerns are being taken lightly

• They don’t care my child has been biten

• They tell me they are taking care of it but nothing is being done

What Can Parents Reasonably

Expect From a Program… • Put children’s safety first and provide appropriate first

aid

• Provide appropriate programming

• Help children who are biting learn how to not bite

• Give parents current information on biting

• Ensure teachers have adequate training

• Tell parents specific steps that address biting

• Respond to their questions and concerns

• Be willing to schedule parent/teacher conferences

• Keep child’s identity confidential

Saying ‘NO’ to Parents Demands

• Keep the biter away from my child • Give them the name of the biter • Kick out the child who is biting • Punish the child by withholding snacks or activities • Demand the child who bit be tested for HIV/AIDS and

/or hepatitis • Allow them to handle it themselves by punishing the

parents of the child who bit • Allow them to discipline the child • Suspend the child who bit for a few weeks “for a

break”

Responding to Well-Intentioned

Bad Advice • Forcing something into their mouths • Punishing the child at home that night • Bribing the child • Biting the child back • Having the other child bit them back • Spanking the child • Making the child go to the Director’s office • Popping the child under the chin after biting • Keeping the child away from other children or

away from one child in particular

ROLE OF THE PROGRAM

ADMINISTRATOR

• Be consistent

• Have policies and procedures

• Educate staff

• Be there for the parents and staff

• Juliette Kula

• jkula@ywcachildcaresolutions.org

• 815-484-9442 ex. 228

• NAEYC

• Zero to Three