Biting at nursery

Kids will be kids but to have a child bite them everyday? That’s crazy! I’d go nuts! Is it the same child everyday? Is that child biting other children or just him? Do the parents know? How strict are they with monitoring the kids, what’s their staff to child ratios? HOW are they dealing with this? These are all the questions that instantly come to my head that you need to know the answers to. There is no way I’d be happy sending my child to a nursery for this to happen to them everyday. Soon, he’s gonna hate going there, you don’t want that for your son. I understand it’s hard because you obviously have a reason he needs to go there, but I’d be looking into sending him to another nursery if the situation doesn’t get resolved asap

Apparently it’s a different child each time, but I’m not sure if that better or worse!! Frustrating my husband is doing the nursery runs as I’m super pregnant, and he’s not a great at asking questions..I think I’ll give them a call tomorrow and try to find out what’s going on. My guess is that they’re short staffed as they’ve also not updated the app they use all week 🙄. Yesterday’s bite was apparently because my LO was in the other child’s space(?!) and today there was an ‘altercation’. They’re 20months to about 30m in his new room, so I don’t know if it’s just a phase for children that age?! Thankfully at the moment my LO actually doesn’t seem that bothered, when I asked what happened yesterday he just said ‘oh noo, bite’

Do they bite other children too? Surely they need to crack down on it if there’s loads of kids biting, otherwise they’ll all be biting eachother! Short staffed or not, I’d definitely be ringing them up to find out what’s going on.

No because that’s not like a “ oh they bit him” they must’ve really had a good grip. I know accidents like these happen but I’d be so annoyed x

@Danielle I said the same thing to my husband, they must have had a hold for a while to make a mark like that! Makes you wonder how the staff didn’t notice as surely he must have been crying at that point?! I couldn’t believe dad just let it slide when he picked him up.

I feel like dads just tend to just pick them up and not ask questions🤦🏼‍♀️😂 definitely I wonder how long they were doing it for it must’ve really hurt bless him x

I'd see if you can go in for a meeting with the nursery to discuss it in person and see if they can come up with an alternative like moving to another room if available. Also aren't nurseries supposed to shut the room for the day if they're short staffed?

@YazmynJade yeah, I will try and have a chat with them, there aren’t any other rooms for his age group unfortunately. I don’t actually know they’re short staffed to be fair, just making an assumption - but you’re right, they normally combine rooms / get temp staff if they’re short staffed.

Definitely ask for a meeting and see if anything can be done to resolve it as it's not fair on your little one xx

Yes, ask for a meeting with the overall manager of the nursery, designated safeguarding officer (if different person) and supervisor for the room. It's best done that way asap so you aren't rushed into a quick chat at the door while they let in other parents at the end of the day. Also maybe threaten with Ofsted?

I’d personally be talking to the nursery. I work in a nursery myself and yes it’s a typical age for biting however it should not be a regular occurrence and that looks as if the other child has had a grip on him for a bit. The staff should be watching the children and clearly they aren’t watching them enough if it’s happening every day. Also if it’s happening every day they need to be looking into it with why it’s happened and what can they do to prevent it? For example we had a little one that bit other children a lot so he now has a 1:1 to ensure he don’t bite others around him x

Omg ! Everyday bite is crazy actually. They must be around them always . I’ll get mad if I see my baby hurt . Its staff fault not the child because some children do these things . However, must be checked what’s going on there . Safety must be their priority. You can have a conversation with them or change nursery if things don’t solve .

I work in a nursery and I know these things happen all the time, kids will be kids and sometimes the kids are very quick to bite even when they’re supervised, but for it to happen everyday is a cause for concern.. I’d say ask for a meeting or talk to manager as you need to know what they’re doing about it, once okay but everyday? Absolutely not

I work in a nursery and trust me some settings can be so understaffed and stressful. I know they can’t give you the identity of the children who bite your child but you can ask if it is the same child that’s been doing it so it doesn’t break confidentiality. If so, definitely ask them to put something in place so your child isn’t targeted (if it’s the same child bitting each time) safeguarding is our main priory and if you feel like your child is not being safeguarded then definitely talk to the manager and try to put something in place to help your child (or any other child who may be getting bitten) there’s a book called ‘teeth are not for bitting’ if your worried that your child might start biting to. I know that children that age might find it hard to communicate with their voice so they do other things like biting, hitting or screaming so it’s totally normal for children to do these things but if your child is getting bitten regularly then the staff aren’t safeguarding your child!

My son gets bitten every now and again (he was today, and so was another boy in his room). It angers me every time. But every day is a lot, and that one looks really bad. Are they discussing this with the other child's parent?

I'll also add that I hear its quite common at this age (1.5 to about 3 years old) because they get frustrated snd they "don't have words." Logically, I get that. A lot of kids this age slap, too, which is also bad but not as bad. I feel like you either get a biter or a hitter around the toddler years 😆

I am a toddler teacher myself..I have a “biter” in my classroom, and that child has bitten on contact and there contacts have neverrrrr looked like that!!! Seems to be a reason why your child is always getting bitten….i would ask questions.

Thanks everyone! I’ll definitely have a chat with the manager. Up until this week I’ve only ever had positive things to say about the nursery, so hopefully we’ll get it sorted quickly 🤞🏼