bunkie68
November 16th, 2004, 01:41 PM
I've now lost count of how many times Julian has come home from daycare with a bite mark somewhere on him. The center is generally pretty good about having accident reports, although there have been a couple of times where they didn't, because no one saw what happened. I saw how this could happen when Julian got bitten one day after I'd gotten there. I was talking to the teacher, and when Julian got to me, she and I noticed a big raised welt on his cheek at the same time - clearly a bite mark, clearly very fresh (as in, within the couple of minutes I'd been in the room). Julian didn't cry, didn't fuss, didn't act bothered at all, but it was a good-sized bite, right on his cheek. :eek: So I can see how sometimes a bite might go undocumented if Julian gets bitten and doesn't really react - in that case, the teacher might not be aware that it happened, and depending on where the bite was, might not ever see the mark (for example, if it's somewhere covered by clothes).
My question is this: Daycare won't reveal the names of biters to me. I can kind of understand their reasoning, they wouldn't want me directly confronting other parents about the issue. They assure me that no one child is a habitual biter (meaning, has done it three times or more). But if they aren't seeing all the incidents as they happen, how do they know? And Julian has been bitten so often now that I'm beginning to wonder how someone can *not* have bitten him three times - there are only so many kids in his class. I really don't want to change daycares - Julian's been here since he was seven months old, I like his teachers, and they love him. I think it would be pretty disruptive to move him somewhere different (and I don't want that right now, when we're already in the middle of separation anxiety). But I also don't want him to be some other kid's chew toy and have nothing be done to the kid who's doing the biting. What can I ask/expect the daycare to do?
My question is this: Daycare won't reveal the names of biters to me. I can kind of understand their reasoning, they wouldn't want me directly confronting other parents about the issue. They assure me that no one child is a habitual biter (meaning, has done it three times or more). But if they aren't seeing all the incidents as they happen, how do they know? And Julian has been bitten so often now that I'm beginning to wonder how someone can *not* have bitten him three times - there are only so many kids in his class. I really don't want to change daycares - Julian's been here since he was seven months old, I like his teachers, and they love him. I think it would be pretty disruptive to move him somewhere different (and I don't want that right now, when we're already in the middle of separation anxiety). But I also don't want him to be some other kid's chew toy and have nothing be done to the kid who's doing the biting. What can I ask/expect the daycare to do?