Biting In The Toddler Room
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:21 pm
When working with the toddlers one of the most typical behaviours that children tend to display at this age is biting. No matter how much fun the children are having or how engaged they are in experiences, it happens in a split of a second. Discussing a biting incident with parents can be difficult, especially for the child bitten as sometimes it can look worse than it really is and parents can understandably be upset by this. Parents of the biter are often embarrassed and angry by the hurt caused by their child. It's a natural part of growing up and if it happens you will need to put in place some strategies to support the child who is biting as well as the other children in the room. Here are some techniques to use:
- Don't ever blame the biting child. The most important thing is to be watchful and supportive of the child and aim to prevent the biting before it occurs.
- The next step that you will need to do is to observe the child and try and identify what triggers the biting in the first place.
- Once know basically the times of day and situations that the biting is most likely to occur its important to have extra supervision.
Once The Situation Is Identified
For this example the child usually bites when wanting a toy that another child has...
Its very common for a child to bite another child to try and get a toy that they want. Some children cant express what they want in words so they use other means, in this instance biting.
For a couple of weeks you will need to have a staff member shadow the child, which basically means to follow and observe the child throughout the day. The child wont necessarily know that a staff member is watching them so they will continue to play as usual. Once the child begins playing with another child and begins struggling for a toy, the staff member must step in before the biting occurs.
This helps the child to resolve the conflict before the biting occurs and also allows the staff member to model appropriate ways of negotiating and resolving conflict.
Hopefully this gives you an idea on managing biting,
,
L.A
- Don't ever blame the biting child. The most important thing is to be watchful and supportive of the child and aim to prevent the biting before it occurs.
- The next step that you will need to do is to observe the child and try and identify what triggers the biting in the first place.
- Once know basically the times of day and situations that the biting is most likely to occur its important to have extra supervision.
Once The Situation Is Identified
For this example the child usually bites when wanting a toy that another child has...
Its very common for a child to bite another child to try and get a toy that they want. Some children cant express what they want in words so they use other means, in this instance biting.
For a couple of weeks you will need to have a staff member shadow the child, which basically means to follow and observe the child throughout the day. The child wont necessarily know that a staff member is watching them so they will continue to play as usual. Once the child begins playing with another child and begins struggling for a toy, the staff member must step in before the biting occurs.
This helps the child to resolve the conflict before the biting occurs and also allows the staff member to model appropriate ways of negotiating and resolving conflict.
Hopefully this gives you an idea on managing biting,
,L.A