The Biting Support Pack was created to help early years services to support any biting incidents than may occur. Biting happens in almost all early years settings where young children are together. It is important to ensure that the correct approach is taken in every situation. Dealing with biting can be challenging but remember it is a developmental stage children may go through.
All biting incidents are upsetting for children and should be dealt with in a calm and clear manner. The main aim should be to put every effort in the first instance into prevention procedures to help children to develop the necessary skills to reduce the risk of biting occurring.
Where biting does occur services should endeavour to establish the children’s reasons for biting and to take proper measures to prevent further incidents wherever possible. To help with this, staff should be supported and trained to ensure they feel confident when this occurs. Below are some great tips taken from the Biting Support Pack from Canavan Byrne that will support services.
Staff Tips for Dealing with Biting
- Staff should be trained to use clear language and to be consistent in the approach to biting
- Staff should be vigilant to ensure there are sufficient toys/activities to allow children to release frustrations and energy based on age and stage of development.
- Staff should ensure there are sufficient toys and materials in the room based on the number of children. This helps to avoid children competing for toys and becoming frustrated.
- Staff should be aware that a simple conflict over a toy or personal space could be enough to cause a child to bite.
- Staff should be vigilant to the relationships between children and are aware of possible conflicts.
- Staff should be aware of the temperaments of the children and look for any patterns of negative behaviour that may lead to biting.
- Staff should be proactive and intervene in advance if necessary to avoid incidences of biting/conflict where possible, e.g. separating children to avoid possible incidence of biting.
- Staff should encourage children to use language to express feelings/emotions. Staff may need to teach children words that are appropriate. Children who can verbally express themselves are less likely to bite due to frustration.
- Staff should be vigilant to particular times of the day that may lead to children biting, e.g. when tired/hungry arrival/collection times etc.
- Staff should be aware when children are teething and will offer materials/foods which may soothe
Biting Support Pack Details
The Biting Support Pack was designed by Canavan Byrne to support early years services with biting. It includes the following documents that can be customised to suit a service's own requirements;
- Biting Policy
- Information Booklet for Parents (with customisable front page to include service name)
- Biting Risk Assessment (newly added)
- Reasons I Might Bite Visual Aid Poster (translates policy into an accessible, visual and colourful poster to support practitioners).
Remember all of our Early Years Resource Factory members receive 15% discount on all of our downloadable form packs and toolkits, including all of the above mentioned packs!
