Lsu Early Learning Center Biting Policy

LSU EARLY LEARNING CENTER BITING POLICY

Why do some children bite while others don't? There are a number of possible reasons why children under age 3 bite, almost none of them the fault of a child behavior problem, bad parents, or bad caregivers.

Common Reasons Why Young Children Start Biting

·  Teething.When teeth are coming through, applying pressure to the gums is comforting, and older infants will use anything available to bite. Obviously, if this is a likely cause, then teething remedies like a ring or objects to bite will lessen the infant's need to bite other people.

·  Excitement and over-stimulation.When some very young children are very excited, even happily so, they may behave in an out-of-control fashion.

·  Impulsiveness and lack of self-control.Infants sometimes bite because there is something there to bite. This biting is not intentional in any way, but just a way of exploring the world.

·  Making an impact.Young children like to make things happen, and the reaction when someone is bitten is usually pretty dramatic.

·  Frustration.Too many challenges, too many demands, too many wants, too little space, and too many obstacles may lead a child to bite, especially before they have the capability to express frustration through using language.

What to do if your child is bitten?

There's not much worse than seeing a bite mark on your child, and worse, infant and toddler bites are often on the face. All of our parental primal instincts as our child's protector come into play. It is natural to be upset. But try and keep in mind that it is a consequence of a situation and not really the fault of the child, the family, or the program. Your child might as easily have been the biter. LSUELC does not release the name of the biting child for that reason.

How does the LSUELC staff handle biting situations?

The LSU Early Learning Center will work very hard to ensure that every child is safe and comfortable, as a dedicated staff we will take extraordinary measures to help a child overcome the "biting habit."The staff’s job is to keep the children safe and help a child that bites learn different, more appropriate behavior. We do not use or encourage techniques to alarm, hurt, or frighten children when biting occurs. Sometimes even with all the effort and constant supervision a “ A Biter” may strike again.

STEP 1-Immediate Action

·  Staff will stay calm and will not overreact.

·  The biting will be interrupted with a firm "No…we don't bite people!" , “We use our mouths for talking and eating ”

·  Comfort the child who was bitten.

·  Remove the biting child from the situation and focus caring attention on the biting victim.

·  The wound of the bitten child shall be assessed and cleansed with soap and water.

·  Let the biter know in words and manner that biting is unacceptable and allows them to assist in the comforting of the bitten child.

·  NOTE: If the bite pierced the skin, there may be risk of contamination from bacteria or viruses in the mouth. The staff will recommend to the parent that it would be advisable to take the child to their personal physician. A copy of the incident report with procedures that were done for wound care will accompany the child if the parent chooses to take the child to the doctor.

·  The bitten area should continue to be observed by parents and staff for signs of possible infection.

STEP II-Notify Parents Immediately

·  The parents of both children will be notified of the biting incident. Appropriate forms will be filled out (Incident Report).

·  Confidentiality of all children involved will be maintained. No children’s names will be revealed to the parents of the biter or the bitten child.

·  Let the parents of the bitten child know what comfort measures were given to the child and how child is doing after treatment.

·  Notify the parent of the child who did the biting of the events that led up to the incident and corrective and preventive measures that were taken after the incident.

·  The teachers will ask the parent if the child has had a problem with biting recently or in the future and begin working with the parent to develop a written plan to help prevent the child from biting again.

STEP III - Developing a Plan of Action - When Biting Occurs:

·  The purpose of the meeting is to: develop a plan to prevent the reoccurrence of the biting, consider the circumstances that led up to the incident, the needs and concerns of the child who bit and of the child who got bitten, the activity the class was participating in at the time, and what could be done differently.

·  The child will be shadowed to help prevent any biting incidents.

·  The child will be observed by the classroom staff to determine what is causing the child to bite (teething, communication, frustration, etc.)

·  The child will be given positive attention and approval for positive behavior.

·  The written plan becomes a part of this documentation and will also be in the child's file.

·  Re-evaluate the plan in two weeks.

STEP IV – Documentation

·  The Incident report, the plan, conversations with parents and any follow up actions will be in the child’s master file for parents to review at any time.

STEP V - Follow Up

·  The following day or as soon as possible, ask the parent of the child who was bitten how the child is doing. Explain that you had a meeting with the parents of the biter and that a plan has been implemented to prevent it from happening again.

·  After two weeks, the team will meet again to re-evaluate progress. If the behavior is not decreasing, it will be considered aggressive behavior and the Administrative team will follow through with implementing that policy.

·  On these rare occasions in which the well-being of the child as well as those at the center are being jeopardized the family may be asked to temporally remove the child until the biting has ceased and then child may return to the center. During this time all financial obligations must be kept current.

What can a parent do if their child begins to bite?

Removing significant stresses on the child at home, such as a demanding schedule or difficult transitions, will make it easier for a child to handle times of stress that do arise. If the child bites other children in your presence, take the same steps suggested above immediately after the biting occurs and look for ways to adapt the environment to prevent biting in the future. If the child is biting at daycare, keep in close communication with the child’s teachers, try to set firm schedules and transitions during drop off and pick up, and monitor your child in the presence of other children. The good news is that all biting children grow out of it, most often in their twos. This happens to the great relief to all: the biting child, the other children and their parents, and the teachers and staff.