Improving Your Child's Preschool Experience

Biting is a common behavior in toddlers. That said, do not be surprised if you learn that your child was on the receiving end of a biting incident at their child care facility or daycare. What do you do when your child is bitten? Here is what should know.

Do Not Panic

It's normal that you want to ensure your child is protected at all times, and it can cause a lot of stress knowing that they were bitten while at the daycare when you were away.  The first time an incident occurs with biting, it is normal to feel worried, scared, or even consider pulling your child out of daycare and finding a new one.

You need to understand that biting between kids at daycare is not very serious.  Bites do not often break the child's skin, and if the bit is strong enough to cause damage, it won't leave a scar or cause an infection.  As a safety precaution, your child should already have all of their vaccines before entering daycare, so they should be fine.  If your kid does not have updated vaccinations, consider visiting your doctor just to be safe. 

Know How Daycare Will Respond

There is a standard operating procedure for when a biting incident occurs at a day care.  The first thing that happens is you will receive an incident report that details all of the circumstances that surrounded the incident.  This will include information such as where it occurred, what time it occurred, who was supervising the children at the time, the part of the body that was bitten, and what first-aid procedures were used for treating your child.

It is pretty standard for a daycare to not release information about which child was responsible for the biting incident, but know that it will be discussed with the child's parents.

Children will bite due to a variety of reasons, which include anxiety, curiosity, or trying to tell another child to stop when they have not yet developed the words to do so.  If you notice that biting is a reoccurring problem, your daycare may provide a solution to resolve the problem.  For instance, the children may be separated by being placed in different classrooms or redirected to different activities so they do not play with each other. Since many daycares are private, the responsible student may even be kicked out if the incident occurs frequently enough.