Just don’t give up what you’re trying to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.
– Ella Fitzgerald

One challenge early care and education professionals face no matter where they live in the world is how to address young children’s biting in positive and effective ways. An article on the Community Early Learning Australia (CELA) website quotes experienced early childhood educator and CELA Facilitator Meg Anastasi:

“Biting often stems from frustrations and an inability to regulate and express themselves,” she says. “Some children may also be more sensory seeking with their mouth and prone to biting.” The article goes on to explain that  “some other common reasons for biting include:

• Teething
• Experimentation with cause and effect
• Overstimulation
• Boredom
• Hunger
• Feeling unwell

Whatever the reason behind the biting, and as confronting as it is, it’s important to remember that biting is developmentally appropriate.

Children have many communication strategies (not all appropriate) that they may employ to initiate or join interactions with peers. Educators’ roles are to work intentionally to resolve and minimise these incidents including biting…It’s essential that children are supported to navigate these challenging times. An individual plan will facilitate this.

Note: Sometimes biting can be an indicator of an underlying issue that may require further investigation. It’s important that educators report the incidents to families…they may have some valuable information you are unaware of.”