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How to Stop Biting in Children - Part II

This is the second part in a three-part series on understanding why they bite and how to stop the behavior. The intrinsic reinforcement children experience when they bite and the three major reasons for biting were discussed in Part I of this article series (Please refer to that article archived in Behaviour).

What Can We Do To Stop or Reduce Biting?

• Keep a biting log. Make up a chart that includes pertinent information.
• Assign an observant and well-trained adult to be within arms reach of the biter at all times. This person shadows the biter and makes every effort to intervene before anyone is bitten. If one child is identified as a frequent victim, assign an adult to that child as well.
• In a day care or childcare setting, parents of the victim should receive a written accident report describing the injury and the interventions that have been implemented. The biter's name should never appear on the report. Normal first aide techniques are appropriate. Broken skin may be emotionally alarming, but if tetanus shots are current and the bite is properly cleaned, broken skin is not a health concern.
• Apologize - Apologize - Apologize. Even when every effort has been made to prevent aggressive acts, the parent of the victim needs to hear an apology from the adults in charge. It is a mistake to minimize the event or to explain it away as typical toddler behavior.
• Arrange a meeting with the parent of the biter. When a consistent system of dealing with biting is used both at home and at school, the possibility of reducing or eliminating the biting is improved.
• Try to separate biters and victims for as much of their day as possible. Often the biter and the victim are good friends. They frequently play together which increases the possibility of continued bites. Seat friends apart from each other, place them in separate groups, and encourage their participation in activities at opposite ends of the playground or classroom. If the primary caregiver leaves to get materials etc., take the biter along.
• Try to eliminate the reinforcement.
• If a child is a "Busy Box Biter," shower all of the attention on the victim and offer little or no attention to the biter. If he does not benefit from the act, biting will lose its appealing. Give the child opportunities to explore cause and effect in more positive ways.
• Adults must be certain that the "Get What I Want" biter does not get the toy, turn, swing or seat she was seeking.
• If a child bites to reduce stress, identify the source of stress and eliminate it where possible. Allow that child to go first and remove him from crowded situations before he is driven to bite. If the log demonstrates that a particular time of day is difficult, make every effort to meet his needs promptly at that time.

Ignore the Biter
In general, the biter is ignored. When a child first begins to bite, it is appropriate to say "NO! Biting hurts! Make a better choice. It is not okay to hurt our friends."

After two or three events, a two-year-old biter may be placed in time out with no further explanation. (A good rule of thumb is one minute in time out for every birthday. A two-year-old child would spend no more than two minutes in time out.) Be careful not to overuse time out or to attend to the child as you escort him to the time out area.

It is not appropriate to put a one-year-old in time out. When very young toddlers are aggressive, simply distract and redirect them to a more appropriate activity.

Excessive fussing and verbal reprimands provide attention and are likely to increase biting. It is never acceptable to bite a child - hurting a child to teach him not to hurt isn't logical and doesn't work.

If a child stops biting for two weeks, the satisfaction and reward biting provides is usually forgotten. Interventions may be somewhat time consuming, but not as time consuming as continually dealing with the pain and frustration of an injured children.

Happily, children stop biting as communication skills mature. While biting is common with one and two year old children, it is much less common for a three year old to bite.

About the Author: Penny T. Borgia has more than 20 years of experience in childcare directing accredited preschool programs. She also has provided parent education programs, taught professional workshops and created a childhood educational training system for preschool teachers. She may be reached at fjborgia@aol.com