More on Biting
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- April
- 6
Thanks for all your great thoughts on Owen’s biting incident. Many of you feel so passionately that this never should have happened—Owen just should not have been bitten by another baby at daycare. While I agree, I can’t help but feel, life just isn’t like that. Things happen that shouldn’t all the time and one of our most important jobs as parents is to help our kids role with the punches—even when those punches are unfair. In this situation, I felt a little locked out from my daycare. Sorry, but like so many of you, I want to know everything that happens to my son; and when he’s bitten I want to know by whom. So, I kept fishing. The next morning I went to the classroom and saw one of the junior teachers and asked, “So what happened yesterday?” This teacher, perhaps oblivious to the center’s no-telling policy, spilled the beans and revealed the biter: Eddie, whom I suspected all along.
From here, I have no real plan of action. I suppose I’ll just sit and wait and cross my fingers that Eddie is a one-time offender. However, I learned something from Owen’s experience: As a parent, you have to keep asking questions no matter what. And when you’re not getting answers from one teacher, try another. Even though I can’t change what happened, I still feel better knowing what did.
This entry was posted
on Friday, April 6th, 2007 at 1:41 pm by Mary Lynn Mitcham.
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Hi Mary,
I didn’t read your original question, but I can tell you that biting happens in daycares and it is not something to get very excited about. We used to joke that we had the dental records of all the kids in my sons daycare.
I caution you about finding out who bit your child. The first time my son was bit (on the face), we searched and found out which child it was. I told myself it was just out of curiosity. I am a little embarrassed to admit that I actually found myself looking at this other cute little 2 year old in a different way. It was strange to hold a small resentment against such a young child and her parents.
The reality is that children bite and there is really no way for the teachers to be prepared to stop the random “attack.” Children are very limited in their ability to express themselves and handle conflict in a rational way. Biting isn’t even necessarily in anger; sometimes kids get so excited, there adrenaline gets the best of them. Certainly, we should strive to teach the children that this is not proper behavior and that there can be consequences like a time out, but I would be very surprised if this is the last time, and not too surprised if your chilod does the same to you or another person at some time in the future.
-Erik Cohen, MD
Next Generation Pediatrics
Very wise words from Dr. Cohen.
Also, once I found myself as the parent of the biter.
Though we were lucky it only happened once, I was glad the teachers could mediate, as it wasn’t something my child normally did, nor was it a lack of discipline or whatever at our house (my imaginary criticism by the parents of the bitee).
Biting is going to happen, even at the finest daycare in the world, or, on a playdate. But, it gets better as the kids get old enough to express themselves.
I suppose as a parent it is in part a trust thing.It was good to read “the other side of the coin” never the less,it cannot be taken lightly Don
excuse me. but am i in bizzaro world? Biting is a big deal especially when breaking the skin. Hey doc what kind of issues can a kid have when they get bit and the skin is broken? tetanus for one? and in this day and age maybe worse…
yes little kids bite and preventing or reprimanding them at such a young age or holding a grudge is not going to help or even stop it. But there is a real health issue ….
At least when i was a kid it was…There is a need to know because the biter may need to be taken to the docs as well to make sure he doesnt have issue. The human mouth is filthier than any animals on the planet, next to a rat…
Steve, I think by definition, when you have a child and are dealing with all of their strange reactions, you are living in “bizzaro world.” We use the word “whack-a-doodle” alot.
I think everyone is in agreement. The injuries must be addressed for both the biter and the bitee. Because of the vaccination guidelines and requirements, tetanus has become quite rare in the daycare setting. We see it more in an older population when we become more lax about getting the booster every 10 years. More of a concern centers around Streptococcal, S. Aureus, Eikenella corrodens, and the anaerobic bacterial infections. Limited data exists to suggest and guide antimicrobial therapy for patients with wounds which are not overtly infected. Factors which doctors must take into account are things like depth of the wound, placement (hand or foot vs. face or torso), how long ago the injury occurred, joint involvement, and whether the child is immunocompromised. The schools and daycares have medical records and these should be utilized as part of the decision-making process for the next line of therapy.
It is essential to let the parents of both children know about the incident, but it is not necessarily a great idea to start pointing fingers and letting everyone know who did what to whom.
Hi, hello, privet
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