Article Link: http://stage.exchangepress.com/article/whats-a-little-bite-among-friends/5009241/
There is probably no situation more emotionally charged than when one child bites another at your center. Perhaps it will be reassuring to know that there is nothing you can do to insure that it will never happen. Yes, it happens even in "good" centers.We do know some procedures, however, that can help minimize the hysteria that often follows THE BITE.
It will be worth your efforts to do some serious staff training about how to handle biting.
_ Teachers should understand why children bite. It is a developmental issue that often surfaces when toddlers are in group care. If you think about it, toddlers are the children least suited to group care. They are not developmentally able to share space, toys, or the attention of their favorite adults. Being forced to be part of a group can be very frustrating.
_ Before toddlers have good language skills, they often communicate physically. They shove, they push, they bite. We have to remember that, at this age, they do not have a social conscience as we know it. They may fully understand that when they bite, someone cries; but they have not connected yet all the ...