Volume 5, Issue 4
January/February 2014
Biting!
Biting is a serious and complicated issue.
Early Childhood Newsletter
Mental Health Edition
COMMUNITY SERVICES FOR CHILDREN, INC.
THE NORTHEAST REGIONAL KEY
Anyone
who works in a toddler room can attest to that. Toddler biting is quite common in early learning centers. Sometimes
baffling and even paralyzing caregivers, who search desperately for an answer to why a particular child is biting his
peers. Directors are often faced with parents who, if their
child was bitten, feel justified in threatening , “Either you
kick that ‘biter’ out or I’m pulling my child out of here!”
Most people see biting as a problem that must be punished, and, if not, the child has “gotten away with it!” Some
feel that the child must pay a price for the offense. This
places a lot of pressure on directors and administrators to
please and satisfy adults rather than focusing on the needs
of the child who is using biting to meet his or her needs and
the children who are being bitten. Furthermore, the research
shows that punishment is an ineffective response to any
challenging behavior. While everyone’s goal is to help toddler’s stop biting and learn other behavior, punishing the
child does not help anyone—the child, the provider, or the
parent reach that goal. What IS effective in helping toddlers to stop using biting? To answer that questions, we
need to take the time to determine why the child is biting
and then find strategies and techniques that match the
child’s reasons for biting.
The real challenge for adults, is to address it effectively
with children and explain it effectively to adults.
Inside this issue:
Reasons for Toddler Biting
2
Labeling a child, “the biter”
2
Recording Biting Behavior
2
Responding to Biting Behavior
3
Biting as a Reason to Exclude Children
3
Making a Referral to the ECMH Project
4
Creating a Biting Policy
4
Reasons for Toddler Biting
Developmental Reasons:
Expression of Feelings:

Teething pain or discomfort

Frustration

Learning about cause and effect

Anger

Developing autonomy

Anxiety

Developing oral-motor skills

Excitement

Developing a sense of space

Tension

Sensory exploration

Learning through imitating others

Developing expressive communication
skills

Needing more attention

Learning to hold on and let go

Developing sensory integration
An environment or program that is
not working for the child, for example:

An environment that is too stimulating or not stimulating enough

A space that is too crowded and
does not allow children privacy

Inappropriate expectations (such as
expecting toddlers to share toys or
understand how to take turns)

A rigid schedule that does not meet
toddlers’ needs for food and sleep
Excerpted from No Biting: Policy and Practice for
Toddler Programs. Redleaf Press. 2008. pp. 7-8.
“The label “biter” portrays a child in a negative
light and is likely to result in responses from
adults that are less supportive and more negative—even if the adult is unaware of it. This
label is based on only one behavior—biting.
We don’t refer to other children as “the
pooper” or “the spiller.” Besides being unfair, it gets in the way of effective practices
that we adults can use to address the behavior.
When a child is biting repeatedly, refer to her
by name. Insist that others do the same. It
may seem like a small thing, but it really does
matter.”
Excerpted from No Biting: Policy and Practice for Toddler Programs.
Redleaf Press. 2008. p. 31.
We all complete Injury and Accident Reports in
each case where a child was bitten. Typically the
when and how are recorded along with the care
the child received afterwards. Oftentimes, what
is omitted from those reports is the play situation
prior to the injury. Having this information helps
to capture vital information necessary for solving
the biting as it can track trends, times of day, specific play-partners, etc. Consider adding this to
your report form.
Page 2
E A R L Y C HI L D H O O D N E W S L E T T E R
Responding to Biting Behavior
Instead of putting the child who bit in time-out, isolating that child from her peers for periods of time, or ranting and lecturing
(“Why did you bite Joey?!” Why can’t you use your words?! You know you’re not supposed to bite your friends!”) or even reasoning (“How would you like it if someone did that to you? How do you think you would feel then?”)
Lisa Poelle writes that our response to biting behavior in toddlers needs to be simple, in the moment it occurs. She suggests
that the intervention be instructive as well. Consider these steps as you seek to replace your current approach to biting.
1. Interrupt the behavior, if possible.
5. Clarify the limits—”We always touch friends
gently. Even when we’re frustrated.”
2. Help the child who was bitten—give appro- 6. Provide solutions—”If you want something,
priate first aid, comfort her, “I’m sorry you got you can say, ‘My turn?’”
hurt.”
3. Reflect both children’s feelings—”You felt
frustrated.” “And you felt scared.”
7. Re-engage in play—”Are you all done biting?
Then, let’s play with…”
4. Define the problem—”Oh, I see the problem.
You both want the doll.”
Excerpted from The Biting Solution: The Expert’s Guide for Parents, Caregivers, and Early Childhood Educators,” Lisa Poelle, M.A., Parenting Press, 2013,, p. 21.
Biting as a Reason to Exclude Children
Should biting be a reason to exclude children from your program? For some, it is a tempting solution especially
when confronted by parents of children who’ve been bitten and who give you ultimatums. It’s not, however, a simple solution. A program that expels a child for biting is indicating that either it doesn’t know enough to work on the
problem or that it is unwilling to work on the problem—or both! When we do the hard work of acquiring knowledge, developing skills, and providing the best for children, our programs become stronger and more appropriate for
children and families. When we excuse ourselves from doing this, our programs become weaker. Programs that
have actively, painfully, and successfully addressed biting do not use biting as a reason to expel or exclude children.
And they often lose very few families as a result of their policies.
Also, consider the child who is biting and her family. When a child is biting repeatedly, she needs help to learn
other, more appropriate behavior from the adults she knows and trusts. This can’t happen if she is bouncing from
program to program, from adults she knows and trusts, to strangers. Parents feel they need to withhold the reason
for leaving the previous program when they enroll their child in a new one. As a result, they can’t get the help and
support they need. Programs often claim to be justified in expelling a child for biting when they’ve “tried everything.” It usually turns out that “everything” has been a short list of approaches, some appropriate, some not, tried
once or twice each. Consider a referral to the ECMH Project in ensuring support for your site, the child who is biting, and his family when you find yourself at a loss in these situations.
Excerpted from No Biting: Policy and Practice for Toddler Programs. Redleaf Press. 2008. p. 67.
VOLUME 5, ISSUE 4
Page 3
Making a Referral
If you have any questions about the early childhood mental health consultation process or
would simply like more information, contact Ivy Reynolds at [email protected] or call 1-800528-7222, ext. 2328, or 610-437-6000, ext. 2328.
To make a referral to the Early Childhood Mental Health Project, please fax the completed and
signed forms below to Diane Milia at 610-432-5700.
1) “Request for ECMH Services” form, (Directors, please sign) along with the
2) “Parent Facility Agreement” form (Directors and Parents both sign) *** new form
You can find those forms on the Community Services for Children, Inc. website,
www.cscinc.org, under the ‘Resources and Reference Library’ of the Northeast Regional Key
section. Click on ‘Early Childhood Mental Health.’
“Firefighters certainly have to wait until there’s a fire before they can react to it. However, they don’t wait around until there’s a
fire to begin planning how they will fight it. They take a proactive stance and prepare for react to fires: they order equipment,
participate in training, practice, develop policies and procedures, test their equipment, and much more.”
Gretchen Kinnell for Child Care Solutions
Creating a Biting Policy
While some programs have a policy that simply states that they will deal with biting on a case-by-case
basis, it is really a non-policy that requires that everyone wait until after biting has happened. Other
sites have a “Three Bites and You’re Out” policy. This may meet the needs of the adults but we know
that many factors contribute to biting behavior and not all of them are within the child’s control.
Here are some things to consider as you think about your own biting policy.

An introduction stating your program’s perspective on biting. This should take into consideration
typical social/emotional development, the child’s past experience and recent changes, verbal skills,
physical conditions (e.g., ear infections, teething, etc.), temperament, environment, and limit setting.

How staff respond to biting— (see page 3)

How parents are informed about biting—This should include procedures for the parents of the child
who bit as well as the parents of the child who was bitten. It should also include procedures for informing all parents when there is ongoing biting that is serious enough to requires an action plan or
outside consultation.

How biting is documented

The role of confidentiality—The reason for this is that we do not want children labeled. Nor do we
want parents taking things into their own hands.
Excerpted from No Biting: Policy and Practice for Toddler Programs. Redleaf Press. 2008. pp. 63—65.