Toddler biting is prevalent in daycare and preschool environments. Books by Gretchen Kinnell and Karen Katz can help in the fight against toddler biting
For the past two weeks my articles have focused on toddler biting. The idea came to me after I recently witnessed a toddler get frustrated and attempt to bite an adult. Since it was a public incident, the parent was embarrassed and didn’t know how to react.
It brought me back to the many times I’ve had to deal with biting in the preschool setting. Back then, I would have an emotional reaction when I was bitten by student, but I was a teacher’s aide just starting out and wasn’t quite sure how to handle these types of incidents. I would yell “OUCH” and sometimes I would laugh nervously. I now know this is exactly the opposite of what the pros want you to do. I also know that these types of reactions promote biting in toddlers. I’d forgotten what a prevalent issue biting can be.
So for those who want and need more advice on dealing with biting in the preschool, daycare, or any childcare environment, I suggest reading No Biting: Policy and Practice for Toddler Programs by Gretchen Kinnell. Yes, another book recommendation. Kinnell is an expert in training child care providers and also presents workshops on toddler biting.
No Biting provides an overview of why toddlers bite and how to handle biters in greater detail than my articles. It also explains how to deal with ongoing biting and has practical information for dealing with parent teacher relationships with regard to biting incidents. For those of you who work in group daycare setting with multiple staff the book gives practical advice for working together to control biting.
And finally, there are sample policy forms that you can duplicate. I like the book because it’s not just for toddler programs it’s also applicable to parenting.
I also recommend a book for children about biting titled No Biting by Karen Katz. This colorful board book with the theme of discipline shows kids in a playful way many behaviors that are acceptable and unacceptable. It also shows them all the fun things they can do in place of harmful behaviors.
For more information on biting in daycare, see my article Controlling Biting in Daycare.
