Strong Talk on Biting

04/29/2005

"One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few." - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Strong Talk on Biting

On Wednesday we initiated our new Sound Off feature by inviting ExchangeEveryDay readers to express their opinions on Mary Eberstadt's comments on biting in "institutional" care. We got off to a fast start with over 100 readers sharing their views. If you take time to read these opinions, it will make you proud of our profession. Bravo!

Here are two examples of Sound Off comments. To view more, and we encourage you to do so, go to http://mail.ccie.com/go/eed/0610

Leanne Boatfield
Teddy Bears Kindy
Nambucca Heads, New South Wales, Australia
I have long held the belief that my chosen profession will, in years to come be held to blame for all sorts of social woes and having read this person's comments I see that the process is well underway. To fully understand the problem of biting in group care, one has to consider the different types of biters we come across.

Curiosity biters - What will happen if I..... ouch' Generally the reaction is a big one which feeds the toothy terror to greater heights and more victims. Affectionate biters, 'Come on, give me a cuddle, I love you so much I could just eat you..............ouch' where is the aggression? Ownership biters - 'I really want that toy but the words escape me at the moment.............ouch' and finally probably the most common, the Textural biters.

We give small babies teething rings to chew their teeth through but the two year old molars are left to the environment. I have a bucket full of toys for disinfection at the moment that were just the right shape and size - what about that nice juicy shoulder I'm sitting behind?, because after all I am the centre of my universe aren't I? It strikes me that all this occurs in the home environment as well, the difference is that siblings or parents are usually the victims and it is all part of growing up. I like to think that we are the extended family of all our children and if we are to truly serve that purpose then we have to take the frustration with children's misdemeanours alongside the pride in their achievements, isn't that what families do?

Alice Honig
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY, United States
Yes, being in group care in the first two years of life is indeed stressful for little ones. Blood chemistry stress indicators (cortisol tests) show this. But, the value for a parent in poverty to be able to gain paid employment and have her youngster taken care of safely and well has proved a positive benefit for families in poverty. However, far more support for quality care is needed. Many caregivers do not provide the rich turn taking talk, the intimate pats, back rubs, caresses and leisurely holding on laps and in arms that little ones need!. So our solution for decreasing aggressive actions in group care is more training for staff, more loving touches, more holding in arms, more intimate one-on-one interactions, more genuine focused attention to each baby and toddler. Support for high quality care will ease the problem of Aggressive actions in groups, though they will never totally disappear.

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