Four Bites in Nine Days
This toddler room serves nine children aged 20 to 30 months with one teacher and two assistants, meeting the licensing ratio of 1:6. In nine days, 26-month-old Jalen has bitten four times, three of them on the same child, Maya. Three bites happened between 10:10 and 10:30 at the shelf of small cars, just before lunch; the fourth happened at 3:40 when a parent arrived and the room grew loud. Jalen uses about 20 spoken words and no two-word combinations; no sign language or picture symbols are in use with him. Staff report he bit when Maya took a car from his hands, and once when he was standing near the cubbies at pickup. Maya’s mother has emailed demanding that Jalen be removed from the room, saying she has kept Maya home twice. Jalen’s father says the staff “aren’t watching” and has threatened to call the district. The program has a written biting policy with an incident report form and no exclusion clause.
1. What should happen in the first 24 hours after the fourth bite?
Read the worked answer
Attend to Maya first: wash the area, apply a cold compress, document the location and treatment, and notify her mother the same day by phone before she sees the written report. Follow the program’s incident form precisely-time, activity, staff present, injury, treatment, who was notified-and give a copy to each family within the policy’s timeframe. For Jalen’s family, the message is factual and non-accusatory: what happened, what staff did in the moment, and what the program is changing. Do not use the word “aggressive” with either family.
Internally, do three things. Pull the four incident reports and verify they contain antecedent information; most do not, and without it the next step is guesswork. Meet with the two assistants for ten minutes and agree on a shared response script for the moment of a bite: separate, comfort the bitten child first, tend to the biter without shaming, and no “bite back,” which is prohibited and counterproductive. Increase proximity at the identified hot spots and times starting tomorrow, and assign a named adult to the car shelf from 10:05 to 10:30 and at pickup. Respond to Maya’s mother within the day, acknowledging the harm and the pattern without disclosing anything about Jalen-confidentiality applies even under pressure.
2. Analyze the likely function of the behavior and design a two-week prevention plan.
Read the worked answer
The pattern points to two functions, not one. The 10:10–10:30 bites at the car shelf follow a specific antecedent-a peer taking an object-and the child has about 20 single words, so biting is an efficient way to protest and retrieve. That is communicative, not malicious. The 3:40 bite near the cubbies, when the room got loud, looks more like sensory or escape: noise, crowding, and the unpredictability of pick-up. Two functions require two responses; a single “be gentle” lesson will not cover both.
For the object conflict, teach and rehearse a replacement that is within his current means: a sign or picture for “stop” and “my turn,” a duplicate set of the high-demand cars so the shelf holds at least four, and adult modeling of “Maya, it’s Jalen’s turn” before the grab. Keep one car in a “waiting” basket the adult controls. For the transition and noise, give a two-minute warning with a song or visual timer, add a quiet activity at 3:35 near the cubbies, and give Jalen a job at pickup so his hands are occupied.
Document daily: antecedent, behavior, response, outcome. Review at two weeks-not sooner-and look for whether bites drop at the car shelf before changing anything else. If they do not drop, or if new targets appear, that is the point to request a developmental screening, given his 20-word vocabulary.
3. Script the conversations with both families, addressing the removal demand and confidentiality.
Read the worked answer
With Maya’s mother, open by naming the harm: “Maya was bitten again, and I understand why you are angry. Here is exactly what we are doing.” Give her specifics she can verify-adults stationed at the car shelf, duplicate toys, a two-minute warning before clean-up-and the plan for checking in with her daily for two weeks. On removal, be honest and clear: “I can’t discuss another child with you, and our policy does not allow removing a child for biting. What I can do is tell you what we are changing and ask what would help Maya feel safe.” Do not imply the other family is uncooperative or that the child is “a biter.” If she escalates to the director, hand it off cleanly rather than improvising.
With Jalen’s father, preempt the accusation: “You said we weren’t watching. Here is what we saw and the times it happened, and here is what we are changing.” Avoid blaming the home. Ask what helps at home when he is frustrated, and offer the sign and picture symbols for both settings so the replacement skill is used consistently. Offer a developmental screening through the program, framed as support with communication, not as a consequence of biting.
With both families, the same two rules: no identifying details about the other child, and no promises about outcomes-only about actions and follow-up dates.