Health Concern at Daycare! PLEASE HELP!

He seems a little young for this kind of biting. How old is the kids who is biting him? The workers need to do a better job of separating the biting child, and keeping an eye on him in the first place. I know it can happen in the blink of an eye, but if the child has this tendency, they can do a better job of preventing it.
I'd contact the childcare licensing people at http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Child_Care/About_Child_Care_L...

I worked at a daycare and honestly, it's really annoying how little we were allowed to do to prevent things like biting. We were supposed to "redirect" the child, but they were never given any real discipline. I don't think redirection does anything at all. It doesn't teach the child that biting is wrong, it doesn't prevent it from happening again, and I think it even kind of shows the child that nothing will happen so he can keep doing it. Daycares are kind of fearful of lawsuits, since so many people are sue-happy these days. Of course, each daycare may be different, but that was my experience when I worked at one.

I'd definitely talk to the director, he/she is the only one who can really do anything. The teachers in the rooms have rules and laws, set by the state, that they have to follow, but the director might be able to talk to the biter's parents or provide another solution for you.

Talk to the director and voice your concerns. That's the only way something can get done about it.

I don't think you're over reacting, especially since your child is so young and it's happening so much in such a short time frame. Like a couple of other people said, I'm wondering how old the child is who's biting. I currently work in a young toddler mother's day out class where the ages of the kids are between 1 and 2 years old. With that age of kids I've found that biting, pushing and pulling hair is really common when you get several kids that age in a room together. It's upsetting even to me when a child is on the receiving end of this behavior and I know it is to the parent. But it is so common and very difficult to stop when you're responsible for watching several kids who are doing the same thing. I'm constantly watching for this behavior and try really hard to keep it from happening, but diapers have to get changed, lunch has to be served, etc. and the aggressive kids will get one by us every now and then. But I can count on one hand how many times we've had to fill out an "ouch report" for biting for an entire 8 month period. So the fact that this is happening so frequently is very upsetting and raises a red flag in my mind.

It seems like he may be exposed to kids about a year or so older than him. Maybe you could ask for either your child to be separated from older kids OR you could ask for the offendor to be separated or even removed from the daycare. Three times in one week is unacceptable. I know if that was happening in my class, I would probably not be working there anymore. It is ultimately my responsibility to make sure the kids I'm responsible for are safe, even if biting is a common phase kids go through. I would have to figure out a way to keep it from happening. They should be working with you to find an acceptable solution you can be happy with. Just approach them with an attitude of concern and wanting to work it out. Surely they are reasonable people.

Do you have any copies of their rules for the center? There should be a area reguarding this type of situation. When my kids were in a formal daycare they allowed zero tolerence when it came to agressive/dangerous actions. If I were you I would speak to the center's head caregiver and give her/him "1" chance to resolve this issue as it can be not only physically dangerous but can ,for your child,mentally dangerous. I would not allow the situation to continue or you could be "biting off" more than any of you want. N.

I'm sooo sorry that has happened to your baby.
As a parent, I know that's what we fear the most...our children being hurt when we are not there to help or comfort them!

How old is this other child biting your baby?
Did the day care do anything to clean your babies bite mark?
(Some peroxide to clean it out?) That would be very important to do right away with the fear of a contagious disease.

I definitely don't think your over-reacting! I would be very upset....can you tell your Daycare since you are fearing for your son's safety to please keep him away from the other child that's biting him?
I'm sure the other child is going through a phase and will grow out of the biting but that's just too many times in 1 week.
And he's only going to teach your innocent little baby to do the same thing!
If the daycare will not work with you on keeping your child safe, I would highly recommend you get your baby to a new one very fast!

Hi Bobbie,

You have every right to be concerned, the only person that's going to speak up for your child at the daycare is you. This other child needs to be removed from the classroom (at the least) and possibly even from the center. My children have never done that, but if they had, I would be the first one to say keep them away from other kids.

Speak up, and don't feel that you are being too protective. You can be calm and polite and still stand firm.

If the daycare refuses to keep your child safe you should look into other options.

good luck!

Please notify your doctor about the bite that broke the skin. Your child may need a tetanus shot. I know this from personal experience.

Different daycares have different policies.
Talk to the director and ask what their policy is on biting.
Then make sure they are enforcing it. A good daycare will have a pro-active plan on how to stop the behavior. The best, most effective plan I saw was a shadowing plan. If a child bit more than twice in a week they had to shadow the teacher for the rest of the day. Second offense was for the rest of the week. Shadowing meant they had to be within arms reach of the teacher at all times. The kids HATED it, it worked really well - not only did my daughter stop being bit, she stopped biting too!

I also would be a little concerned about the age, we didn't start to see biting issues (both biter and bitee) until after 1 year. If they have a toddler with a history of biting (totally normal, by the way) they need to keep the child away from the babies, maybe it's time for that child to be promoted.

Ok, you are not over acting!!! Promise!! I run a daycare out of my home, and have worked at 4 diffrent types of centers, in 14 years. In my experiance the only type of action is ACTION! if a child bites they should be removed then, not latter. show a little force when telling the child "That hurts" don't use the kind voice, use your mad mommy voice! This child that has bitten, needs to be removed, and if the director does not want to do so then you should have the right to leave the center with no termination fees because of the harm caused to your child. Read your handbook agian about biting, and termination. Most centers will have some type of policy on both of these in there. I do, and I'm not a center. I am sorry these happen to your baby, that is hard, and it hurts!

It is my understanding that children who bite at daycare get several warnings before they are asked to find a new one. I would definitely get to the bottom of why the biting continues.