I hope you can help me, and that I have posted this in the right place. I bumped into an old friend at a children's program this week at our library, and her almost 5 year old son bit the instructor (a very gentle and kind one...soft spoken, too) twice.
She asked me what I thought--as in, is this normal. I taught for several years, and saw younger (2 year olds) bite during language development, but I have never seen a child almost 5 years old bite...let alone bite an adult who was very respectful of personal space and voice volume. My friend said that this happens frequently, especially at his preschool (biting instructors/teachers). Do any of you have any experience with this, and do you have any information about what could be causing it? I understand this is a difficult question, because there is obvious info missing--like what happened leading up to the bite at school (I wasn't there, and mom doesn't know). At the library program, there was nothing out of the ordinary before the bite. The boy simply stood up, walked over, and bit him. I will also add that this boy has a history of hitting, kicking, and pushing in play situations--usually nonprovoked.
Thanks.
She asked me what I thought--as in, is this normal. I taught for several years, and saw younger (2 year olds) bite during language development, but I have never seen a child almost 5 years old bite...let alone bite an adult who was very respectful of personal space and voice volume. My friend said that this happens frequently, especially at his preschool (biting instructors/teachers). Do any of you have any experience with this, and do you have any information about what could be causing it? I understand this is a difficult question, because there is obvious info missing--like what happened leading up to the bite at school (I wasn't there, and mom doesn't know). At the library program, there was nothing out of the ordinary before the bite. The boy simply stood up, walked over, and bit him. I will also add that this boy has a history of hitting, kicking, and pushing in play situations--usually nonprovoked.
Thanks.
