In even the best preschool settings, periodic biting occurs among toddlers and sometimes even among preschoolers. When this happens, it can be very scary, frustrating, and stressful for children, parents, and teachers. Understand that this is not an unusual phenomenon among children who are going through the oral stage of development. It is also not something to blame on children, parents, or teachers. There are no quick and easy solutions to it.
The primary reason that children bite is because they have no way to communicate verbally or get someone’s attention. New Generation Child Care Center believes that by teaching children ways to communicate to teachers and other children, some biting incidents will be eliminated. Therefore, we practice the following daily in the classroom:
- Sign Language
- Affiliation Skills
- Attention Getting Skills
- Calming Down Activities
- Sharing Skills
- Teacher Shadowing (teacher has close proximity control to children who are likely to bite)
For more details on how biting is handled once it occurs, please speak with the Director or Assistant.