Early Childhood Therapist Advice on Biting Video Link
- Developmentally normal - if occurring occasionally.
- 3 main causes: developmental issues, inability to express emotions, environment
- Above 3 years biting should decrease - children begin to develop impulse control, self-regulation skills
- Although it's a developmental behaviour adults react very emotionally to biting, we may need to change our expectations
Developmental Issues Include:
- Teething
- Oral motor skills
- Sensory exploration
- Cause and effect
- Need or want for more attention
- Desire to be autonomous
Inability to Express Emotions:
- Anger
- Excitement
- Fear
- Self-protection - someone is in their space
- Relieving tension/stress orally - like us adults eating, drinking to relieve stress
Environment:
- Over or under stimulated
- Sensory overload
- Routines that aren't flexible
Prevention:
- Look at the environment: duplicate popular toys, toy options but not overwhelming,
- Avoid over crowding
- Oral motor-skills - different texture foods, crunchy, hard, cold etc
- Oral motor-skills blowing bubbles, windmill, wind instruments
- Wear a chew necklace
- Gross - motor skills exercises, brain break
- Transitions - have calming activities - sensory helps self-regulation, and exercise before transitions too
- Cause and effect toys activities
- Teach children to recognise when it might happen and how to respond. "Stop" Body language etc.
- Intervening - name the emotions, all the bodily responses to frustration, red face etc
- Attention seeking - lot's of positive attention when not biting, always attend the child who got bit first. Develop empathy by letting child help tend to child who got bit, ice, hug etc.
- Be brief, serious, when correcting biting behaviour, eye level, name behaviour.
- Lots of repetition, modeling, co-regulating
- "Sorry" doesn't teach empathy, making amends, helping child who got bit does. 'Sorry' may teach them to just say sorry after their action to fix problem.
"You bit her and it hurt, now she is crying"
"Next time you need to say no, move away if you don't like her in your space"
- Resources - Teeth Are Not For Biting - Best behaviour series
- Repetition, read same book a lot!
- It's Never Right To Bite - Social Story - Teachers Pay Teachers
- Teachable Transitions Rae Pica
Some children, however, have trouble developing language skills or have behavioral, emotional, or learning disabilities that stir up intense anxiety, fear, frustration, or anger. These strong emotions can erupt in a variety of aggressive behaviors, including biting, teasing, temper tantrums, and relentless whining. Once the source of such behavior is determined, parents and counselors can help these kids, and their reactions become less explosive.
By Beatrice Motamedi Healthy Day
It turns out that 25%-40% of boys and 10%-28% of girls aged 2-5 years are rated by their preschool teachers as having moderate to high levels of aggression. (You may be shocked to learn that 40% of adult violent behavior started before the individual was 8 years old.) For a child older than 3 years to be aggressive enough for parents or care providers to call for help is a significant problem which, if left unaddressed, can evolve into a lifetime of dysfunction.
Age 3 is a pivotal age, as aggression is normal and even expected before then. All infants bite once they cut teeth. Kids also experiment with their mouths: You may have had the surprise of cuddling a smiling 9- to 12-month-old just to have him sink his teeth into your shoulder. And both male and female 15- to 18-month-olds will knock over a peer to get a desired toy (instrumental aggression) without a thought.
But aggression that is intended to hurt others (hostile aggression) – not just to get something – should have peaked by age 2½ years and be on the decline by age 3. That means that 3-year-olds who are regarded as aggressive have not progressed as they should have. And before trying to send these young children off to a (difficult-to-access) mental health evaluation, you are in a key position to try to figure out why this is so
It is useful to think about the ways in which the following needs are not being met, rendering these kids so unable to cope.
- Sleep
- Noisy chaotic environment
- Nutrition
- Frustration, need for mastery
Not all kids are equally likely to react aggressively to overstimulating or chaotic environments, but note any kind of CNS impairment (such as autism spectrum disorders, lead poisoning, prenatal drug exposure, or even irregular temperament). These can set a child up for a less-robust ability to adapt. The most important condition to consider when a child is overly aggressive, however, is ADHD. More than 65% of children who go on to be diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (which often presents with early aggression) have ADHD. When symptoms of ADHD are significant, it is never too soon for a full evaluation and consideration of treatments.
