Biting Policy

Biting can be an uncomfortable subject for parents of both the biter and the child who is bitten, however, it is a very real situation and needs to be dealt with as soon as it arises.

Children bite for a variety of reasons. This may be because they are frustrated, exploring using their mouth, asserting their independence and wanting to gain control, are stressed or to gain some attention.

The staff will work with you and your child to establish what triggers this behaviour and then to try and avoid the incidents occurring. This may involve altering the child's routine, giving them more one to one attention, purchasing additional resources so sharing is not such a major issue.

If a biting incident occurs, we will first attend to the child who was bitten while keeping the child who bit close by so that he/she can witness the consequences of his/her actions.

We will then remove the child who bit from the situation, and will explain to them; according to their age and understanding, that biting is unacceptable behaviour. For younger child this may be by the tone of voice and facial expressions rather than words. It may be necessary for us to exclude the child from an activity and use 'time out' until they are calm enough to return. We will also encourage the child provide some kind of apology (give a hug, say ''sorry'...) to the child they have bitten and work with them to develop strategies to help them deal with the reasons.

We will make sure any first aid is applied if required and the incident is recorded and seen and signed by the parents.

Many children go through a stage of biting, please do not be alarmed as it is usually a passing phase.