No Biting: Policy and Practice for Toddler Programs

Biting is an issue that is more than skin-deep. It can affect any toddler in any setting and can have developmental, emotional, or environmental causes. An “unfortunately not unexpected” occurrence among toddlers, biting is more than a physical act. It is a serious, complicated issue that brings frustration to the biter, bitee, parents, and child care providers. This book offers technique-building advice for approaching biting in ways that work effectively for everyone involved.

No Biting, Second Edition, is a widely-used resource in child care settings. With expanded and updated chapters, it includes:

Information on why toddlers bite, how to respond when it happens, and how to handle ongoing incidents
How to develop biting policies
Recommended articles to learn more about biting
Sample letters to parents, policy statements, and incident reports
New material on how language development and spatial awareness issues can lead to biting
Additional guidance for working with parents

Perhaps no other concern in toddler programs challenges teachers and parents as much as biting does. This how-to handbook helps you work through biting with successful strategies and trusted guidance.

Gretchen Kinnell is the assistant director of the Child Care Council of Onondaga County (Syracuse), New York, and has presented workshops on biting throughout the Syracuse region. She has also been a special education and preschool teacher.