My Child Bites – Now What?
It’s the end of the day, you come to pick up your child and their teacher hands you an incident report. “This is just a report about today. Your child bit a friend,” they say. So now what?My name is Paige Brickl and I am the Twos Teacher at Leap Academy – Waunakee and I’m here to tell you it’s okay. Don’t panic. Your child is in early childhood, and bites happen. I wanted to make this post to help give you some guidance about situations like this one. What you can do, and what we at Leap Academy can do for your child and your family.
Sometimes children bite, and that’s okay
I would like to say first and foremost that sometimes children bite, and that’s okay. There are a lot of things that cause biting. Sometimes a child is trying to get something. This could be a resource like a toy, or even just attention. Sometimes the reason can be medical, the child could be getting teeth, or it could be a sensory seeking behavior. Sometimes children bite just to say, “I don’t like this, please stop.” Every child’s experience is unique and different, so their reason for biting someone is also unique and different.
So how can we find out what your child is telling us with a bite? Collaboration! One of the most successful ways I have found to help children that are biting is by working one on one with that family. Just like children every family is unique and different. And behavior intervention isn’t one size fits all. I, as well as other Leap teachers, will work with you to help your child. As teachers we are here to help support you, as well as your child. If this is in the form of a formal conference, we will conference. If you’d like a few phone calls, we can chat on the phone. Open communication is the best way to make informed choices for your child.
Intervention is not a scary word
Once communication is established, we can begin moving towards interventions. Now intervention can sound like a scary word, but in the case of behavior it can be defined as anything that helps the child be more successful in the classroom. They way we can decide what intervention would be best for your child is by observing and collecting data. By writing down frequency of behavior, what was happening in their environment, and what the child was experiencing we can often see patterns we did not know were there. These patterns help us determine what a child might need at that moment. For example, if every day a child is biting when friends are transitioning from activities, maybe that child just needs more of a warning that a transition is coming. This is an extremely simple solution for any teacher to follow.
What if a simple solution won’t do?
What can we do if a simple solution won’t do? If, for any reason, a teacher led intervention is unsuccessful, or we can’t find a pattern through observation, we can always bring in outside help. As a Leap Academy teacher, I have worked with many different organizations over the years. The most common starting point for a biting behavior is a group called Birth to Three. Birth to Three can come into the center, observe your child, and come up with in classroom techniques for teachers to try. These tips and tricks don’t take away from your child’s day or single them out. They are simply behavior intervention techniques taught to us by professionals with experience in early childhood, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech, and special education that we can incorporate into our regular teaching. They design interventions that are made to be easy for the child and their teacher. One of the great benefits of Birth to Three is that they can also visit in your home to aid in any behavioral concerns in a different environment as well. We can only work with Birth to Three if you call and give them permission to come into our center. The Dane County program can be contacted at (608) 273-3232.
Now this is a lot of information up front, and a lot of this your child’s teacher will cover as well. One final thing that I’d like to share is that any information about your child is always kept confidential. We cannot share anything about your child with anyone but you. A child that has bitten will not be identified or pointed out to other parents. A child in a Birth to Three program will not be identified to other parents either. The only people who need and get to know anything about your child is your family. Just remember, a bite can seem overwhelming and even scary. You did nothing wrong, and your child is not bad. Sometimes kids bite, and that’s okay. Our goal at Leap is to help your child learn and grow. In situations like this that doesn’t change. So, when it’s the end of the day and you hear, “This is just a report about today. Your child bit a friend” it’s alright to say, “Okay so what can we do?” Leap Academy teachers are here for you.
Looking for a child care center that has experience with biting and understands how you feel as a parent? Give Leap Academy a call and let us talk with you about our team of teachers and how we can assist you. We have two locations to choose from: Waunakee (608.850.9696) and Madison (608.204.9696).