Post on 18-Apr-2018
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
How?
• Decide on length of time
• Trial Period
• Evaluate Your Progress
• Share Your Plan With Parents
• Make Sure Staff is On Board
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
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
• Juliette Kula
• jkula@ywcachildcaresolutions.org
• 815-484-9442 ex. 228
• NAEYC
• Zero to Three