Biting incidents: Practical Guidelines for PreK Teachers
Children generally bite to fulfill a need or cope with a challenge, such as communication skills. Biting is developmentally appropriate in young children, although less common in Preschoolers. Please read the following articles to develop your own research into Early Childhood behavior:
Response to Biting Incident
Child to Child
Take child to nurse
Inform VP and/or counselor about bite
Call parents immediately after taking child to nurse. Staff will never give the name of the child who bit. Teacher will use professional judgment if parents need to talk to a nurse about the injury.
Complete the Incident Report Form
Call the parents of the child who bit by phone call or face to face.
Child to Adult
Go to nurse, fill out an Incident Report Form
Inform parents of the child who bit by phone call or face to face
If a biting incident occurs please follow the steps below with Preschoolers. You and the nurse will need to fill out a biting incident form at the nurses office after the steps below have been completed.
If you see the biting incident, move quickly to the scene and get down to children’s level. Respond to the child who did the biting. In a serious, firm tone and make a strong statement: “No biting. Biting hurts. I can’t let you hurt Josie or anyone else.” “You can help make Josie feel better, lets get some ice for her.”
Respond to the child who was hurt by offering comfort through words and actions: “I’m sorry you are hurting. Let’s put some ice on where it hurts.” As soon as possible, get ice for the child who was bitten. Perform first aid if necessary and go to the nurse. Help the child who was hurt find something to do once back from the nurse.
Finally, talk to the child who did the biting. Maintain eye contact and speak in simple words using a calm, firm tone of voice. Try to find out what happened that led to the incident. Restate the rule, “Biting is not allowed.” Model the use of words that describe feelings: “Kim took your ball. You felt angry. You bit Kim. I can’t let you hurt Kim. No biting.” Discuss how the child can respond in similar situations in the future. Discuss with the child how they can fix the problem (ie by saying sorry, giving a hug, etc)
Revised October 2019