Biting at daycare - suggestions?

Apparently DS is a biter.
He did it to me several months ago, after reprimanding him didn't work, I bit him back and he hasn't done it to us since.

I've had several reports now that he is doing this at school. He doesn't break the skin nor does he leave a mark. It's usually because another child takes a toy away from him or he tries to get a toy from another child.

He's never bitten anyone in front of me, I've seen him on playdates where one child takes a toy from him and he's fine. This only happens in daycare. The teachers remove him and reprimand him. When he gets home I talk to him about it but I don't know how much he understands, he's 18 months.
Any suggestions?

Re: Biting at daycare - suggestions?

ugg so frustrating...its' really up to the teachers to try and "teache" him another way of asking for a toy..

john pushed someone yesterday.. the teacher told me and I said..we'll ok.. how do I teach him NOT to push... if he has NO ONE to push at home.. kwim? How do I recreate the situation to teach him?? you cant.. but THEY can... they can practice giving and taking the toys and see how he reacts and show him better ways to communicate..
My son was always the one getting bit..

Re: Biting at daycare - suggestions?

I read somewhere that biting back only sends the message that it is okay to bite, and one thing to try is to put their arm in the way of them biting you and that way they will end up biting themself and realize it doesn't feel good.

DD recently bit DH and pretty hard, so I guess sometimes you don't see it coming and can't react fast enough. It might just be a faze too.

Re: Biting at daycare - suggestions?

Please don't label your child a biter. There are many reasons why children bite. I have been a child care professional for 18 years and this behavior is more common than you think.

While biting is unacceptable' it is never ok to bite back. This sends the message that biting is ok.

Some reasons children bite are inability to express themselves verbally, frustration, new surroundings, changes in routine, new siblings, when they are tired or hungry.

Since this is only happening at daycare, you might want to take a look at your program. Your child may be trying to tell you something. Is the class size too large? Is there enough down time during the day? Are the activities age appropriate?

How does the staff handle the biting incidents? Your child may benefit from a smaller group program. Sometimes large centers can be overwhelming.

Biting may be your child's way of communicating that he is not happy at daycare.