So my child (22 months) has recently started attempting to bite. He has actually bit another child once, but I think he is testing the waters.

One of his teachers said it's because he is teething. To me, it seems more behavioral, and we are working on it. Teething? Yes, he is, honestly his teeth don't seem to bother him much though.

I am a bit concerned as he will be moving into the 2s class soon (Oct) and I know there are plenty of biters in there and ratios are 8:1 instead of 4:1. I'm not really sure what I can do to prevent him from becoming a biter/getting bit.

He understands mostly everything we say to him, and speaks about 100 words but isn't really stringing many words together quite yet.

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Yes. It is. Staff should be able to block bites. I'd be surprised to know that there are plenty of biters. Yikes!

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I've been told it's a problem in the 2s class my a staff member. There's only so much I can do as a parent, but if there is biting in that class, I will request from the director to staff it differently. Just because they are ALLOWED lower ratios, doesn't mean they should in a class full of biters. I am a little worried about my child moving to that class.

1) I don't want him to become a biter
2) I don't want him to get bit (bitten? sorry I like to use proper grammar but I'm not sure what is correct here)

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I keep pushing the book "No Biting" by Gretchen Kinnell. It's designed for care providers and program directors, but parents should also find it very helpful. It goes into the MANY reasons that children bite, how to appropriately respond with a long-term cooperative plan, and how NOT to respond. While your program director of course will be setting policies and implementing them at the day care, I think parents should be informed so they can support the behavioral plan at home.

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My library does not carry this book, BUT, I recognize the cover and I think they have pages printed out and hanging in the 1s and 2s classroom.

I have read through the bulletins posted on biting, but either the teachers are not using the methods or the methods are not working on these kids OR the staff member is just over-reacting and there's not actually a huge biting problem in that class.

My child has been bitten twice, and he has bitten once. I was once there when another mom was dropping off her child and asking why her child gets bit EVERY DAY (her words) and asking if it's only her child that gets bit or if all the children get bit.

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Omg. You know, you KNOW this staff doesn't do what they should. You have known this for like a year!? I honestly don't understand why you stay.

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Do you have a backup plan for if they terminate you?

The owners base their rates on each classrooms child/teacher ratios. There is little to no chance they will adjust that for you. That is simply the norm in group care.

From now on your child ratios will only go up to 30+/1 in public school. Deep breaths.

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Is it not their job to find a way to stop the biting and keep the kids safe?

If they can't stop 16 kids from biting with 2 adults in the room, shouldn't it be common sense that they either need a different plan or more adults?

I'll grab that book though and have a look. I hardly want my child to become part of the problem, but I'm fearful he will.

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Typically, the method most commonly used is termination of the biter or the parent making the most noise. Don't shoot the messenger. Reread their biting and behavior policy, remind them of it if it does become a problem.

They can only do a couple of things legally: shadow and distract. Both require 1/1 ratio. They can only do that so long until every other kid is basically ignored or the biters are gone. That is why biting is the most common thread topic here. Biting is a losing game for all of us, nobody wins.

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Why does he bite? Watch him to find out. There are many reasons kids bite: teething is one of them, sensory exploration, frustration and lacking the ability to verbalize it, affection (for real!), attention...these are only some of the reasons. If you can recognize the reason for the biting, you have the best chance of preventing it by offering alternatives.

Is it not their job to stop biting? I almost laughed out loud! I am fairly certain that nearly ALL caregivers would do anything to stop biters from chomping on the other kids! There's only so much the childcare can do other than total separation until the phase passes or providing one on one care for the biter. Their job is to keep kids safe, for certain, but their job is not to correct someone else's child's behavior problem. I obsess over biting as much as I do over SIDS! The easiest way to deal with a problem biter is terming, unfortunately. Neither a home based nor center based childcare usually has the time to devote to following a biter around to prevent damage.

Sometimes, it IS a supervision issue, but sometimes, it's just a matter of a kid who bites being in a group that is too large to meet his or her current needs (which would be to have an adult have eyes on him or her 100% of the time). I had a kid who bit while she was contained in a Pack and Play! The other kid would intentionally offer his arm for her to bite. They both got something out of it. I started putting her in a PNP every time I couldn't have my eyes directly on her (like when making lunch or using the restroom). It still happened. The only thing that worked was her leaving. It's been a year, and she is STILL biting (at someone else's childcare now, though).

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