Biting

In early childhood settings, biting is a behavior that many children exhibit as part of their natural development. Biting can arise from various causes, such as teething, frustration, or difficulty expressing emotions. Understanding and addressing biting is essential to ensuring health and safety, promoting positive social interactions, and supporting children in developing emotional regulation.

When creating policies and procedures around biting, it is crucial to balance preventing harm with supporting children’s social and emotional growth. Such policies must ensure a consistent, caring response to biting.

Purpose

A biting policy should provide clear boundaries and expectations for managing biting incidents and ensure that parents, staff, and administrators are aligned. This policy should:

Promote Positive Social Development—Addressing biting constructively helps children develop better ways to communicate their needs and manage their emotions.
Minimize Harm—The primary role of adults in managing biting is to intervene promptly to minimize harm and discomfort for the child who was bitten.
Support Emotional Health—By understanding why biting happens and responding appropriately, children learn healthier ways of expressing their emotions.
Foster Effective Communication—Working closely with families ensures that both the child care environment and home are consistent in supporting the child, encouraging open communication and shared strategies.

Where To Include

At Playvolution HQ, we recommend using the Three Handbook Method and adding this policy to your Operating Handbook.

Considerations

When developing and implementing a biting policy, consider the following:

Child Development–Understand that biting is a normal developmental stage for toddlers, often linked to teething, exploration, or frustration.
Prevention Strategies–Provide an environment that minimizes frustration, promotes emotional expression, and encourages positive social interactions.
Communication with Families–Maintain open communication with families, reassuring them that biting is handled appropriately and that support is available for both the child who bites and the child who is bitten.
Staff Training–Ensure all caregivers are trained to handle biting incidents calmly and effectively, focusing on prevention and intervention.
Licensing–Some state regulations require notification for both the parent of the bitten child and the parent of the child who bit. Check these regulations for privacy requirements – often, notification is required, but revealing any other children involved is not allowed.

Real-World Biting Policies

NOTE: The following samples are real-world examples relating to this post’s topic and are provided as a reference for creating your own policies and procedures. Sharing them here is not a recommendation of their content.

This post is intended to spark reflection and suggest ways of addressing the topic covered when writing or updating policies and procedures. Your policies and procedures should be written to meet your program’s needs and unique circumstances.
Browse More Policy & Procedure Resources Here

Example 1

Biting Policy
Biting is very common in any setting where young children are present. In spite of our best
efforts to help the children express their feelings using words, sometimes a bite will happen.
When this occurs, we will attend to the injured child first to ensure s/he is ok. We will make it
clear to the biter that this behaviour is not appropriate or acceptable.
When a child is bitten, an accident report will be completed. Both families will receive
notification of this incident. It is Montrose Child Care Centre’s policy to keep the name of the
biter confidential. Should the biter’s behaviour continue, the family will be enlisted to help
establish strategies to rectify the behaviour.
Families will be provided with Public Health Information as follows:
Biting incidents can occur among young children during play or while fighting. Parents and
childcare staff may be concerned about the potential risks of disease transmission associated
with these bites; however, the risk of disease transmission is extremely low. The following is
information to help child care centres deal with bites.
If the skin was not broken:
● Clean the wound with soap and water, apply a cold compress and soothe the child who
was bitten.
If the skin was broken:
● Observe both children to see if there was any blood involved
● Allow the wound to bleed gently without squeezing
● Clean carefully with soap and water and apply first aid as per our policy
● Inform the parents of both children as soon as possible (preferably within two hours of
the incident)
● Advise both children’s parents to contact their healthcare provider regarding post
exposure immunization and advice
● Provide Toronto Public Health’s fact sheet “Biting Incidents – Information for Parents” to
the parents involved in the biting incident
● If either child has hepatitis B, C or HIV, report the incident to Toronto Public Health (TPH)
as soon as possible and ensure confidentiality of the children and parents is respected
Be prepared before a bite happens:
● Ensure your facility has written policies for managing child and employee exposures to
blood and body fluids, including bites
● Ensure staff have received training for the proper care of bite wounds
● Ensure first aid equipment is readily available
● Ensure staff are immunized against Hepatitis B
Please contact the TPH Bloodborne Diseases team if you have any questions or would like further
information. They can be reached at 416-338-8400 or by email at CDCBloodborne@toronto.ca.
1 Adapted from: A bite in the playroom: Managing human bites in child care settings, DL Moore,
Canadian Pediatric Society, Paediatric Child Health 2008; 13 (6): 515-519, Feb 1 2014. (0070)

Example 2

Biting
While we realize that biting is an unfortunate natural behavior often seen in toddlers and young preschoolers, it is our goal to do everything we can to protect all children in our care. Biters are told with a firm voice, “Biting hurts …we do not bite people.” When it is determined that a teacher has exhausted all measures of redirection with a repeat biter, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preschool reserves the right to suspend the child’s enrollment in the program. The director and teacher will meet with the family of the biter to determine if the child will be allowed to return to the program. (0092)

Example 3

Biting Policy
There are times in which young children are feeling threatened or have trouble communicating. As a result, they may turn to biting as an outlet. Wild Roots Preschool and Child Care Center Preschool has a low tolerance toward biting. If a child has bitten another child, the following steps are taken:
— Assist the victim of the biter with first aid
— Call the parents of the child who bit for IMMEDIATE pick up
— Have a discussion with the parents to develop a plan of action

If a child bites a second time, the previous 3 steps will be taken, including a parent/teacher conference to discuss strategies. If the child bites for a third time, they may be asked to withdraw from the program.

All incidents will be documented; one copy is given to parents and one copy is kept on file. (0114)

Example 4

BITTING AND HITTING
Biting and hitting may occur in several of the classrooms. This happens periodically in even the best child care programs and is an unavoidable consequence of group care. When it happens it can be scary, frustrating, and very stressful for children, parents, and teachers. It is not something to blame on the children, parents or teachers and unfortunately there are no quick or easy solutions.

–BITE POLICY: If a child bites 3or more times in a day, the parents will be notified and need to pick up immediately. If a child bites through the skin 1 time, the parent will need to pick up immediately and protocol for both families will be followed.
–Both biting and hitting are normal toddler behavior, but the safety of all children in our care is the priority. Bright Futures will do everything we can to prevent a situation where this policy must be put into effect. Staff will follow the unacceptable behavior procedure listed above if biting or hitting occurs.

What teachers do when biting or hitting occurs:
1.) Focus attention on the child who was injured and apply first aid (if necessary).
2.) The aggressive child will be redirected.
3.) Simple language is used “Biting hurts!”
4.) Explain to the child that they need to use gentle touches. Explain what our mouth is used for.
5.) Accident/Injury/Incident Report will be given to parents of child who bites and the child bitten. It is recommended that parents of both the child who was bitten and the child who did the biting to notify their child’s physician for advice if the skin is broken. Staff will track occurrences of biting or hitting by listing time of day, reason (if known), and staff response.
6.) Conference with parents will be scheduled at teacher’s discretion.
7.) Strategies will be developed to reduce hitting/biting behavior.
8.) Strategies will be evaluated.

Confidentiality will be maintained at all times (ex. name of the child who bites will not be released to the parents of a child who is bitten). Biting is a developmentally appropriate infant/toddler phenomenon. A child
who bites other people is not on the path towards being a discipline problem. This behavior is not the fault of the home, the parents or the teachers. Learning not to bite is part of the socialization process.
Infants and toddlers do not connect an event of one time of the day to be a consequence of an event, activity or action of an earlier time of the day.

Young children’s understanding of cause and effect is very
short‐term oriented. Rather than correlating their parents’ disapproval to the biting incident, a child may associate the disapproval with his or her current action. This can be very confusing to the child. Teachers
address the biting incident when it happens and assist the children in appropriate alternatives at that time. We discourage parents from punishing or reprimanding their child later in the day/evening for a biting incident, which occurred in the classroom. (0022)

Sample Biting Policy

This sample policy for the fictitious Playvolution Child Care Institute incorporates the above considerations and uses our recommended 5 policy headings. It is only intended as a guideline. Your policy and procedures relating to this topic should be unique to your program.

Purpose
This policy aims to address and manage biting behavior in a way that respects the developmental needs of young children while ensuring a safe environment for everyone.

Policy
Biting is considered a normal part of early childhood development. It is most common in toddlers and can occur for various reasons, such as teething, frustration, hunger, tiredness, or the inability to communicate effectively. Our approach is to prevent biting where possible and manage incidents calmly and constructively when they occur.

Procedures
The Playvolution Child Care Institute will do the following to institute the above policy:

Immediate Intervention
When a child bites, staff will:
- Comfort the child who has been bitten and administer first aid as needed.
- Calmly address the child who bit, using language like, “Biting hurts. We don’t bite our friends.”
- Redirect the child who bit to another activity that helps release emotions positively, such as sensory play.
Incident Documentation
Staff will document the incident, noting:
- The context in which the biting occurred.
- The response of both the child who bit and the child who was bitten.
- Steps planned to prevent future incidents.
Family Communication
Staff will:
- Notify the families of both children involved in the incident on the same day.
- Discuss strategies with the parents of the child who bit, focusing on preventing recurrence.
- Reassure the parents of the bitten child that appropriate measures are being taken.
Confidentiality
The names of the children involved will not be disclosed to the other families to maintain privacy.
Observation and Pattern Tracking
Staff will observe the child who bites to identify patterns or triggers and attempt to adjust the environment or routines to prevent future incidents.

Notes
Here are related resources:

Tracking
This format CI-3.4.1 V-1.0 Approved by Executive Committee effective 03/14/2024

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Jeff Johnson is an early learning trainer, podcaster, and author who founded Explorations Early Learning, Playvolution HQ, and Play Haven.

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Table of Contents

Purpose

Where To Include

Considerations