My child is being bitten.

Bitesmom wrote on July 10:
Hello.

I am very interested in your response to the 6/6/06 and 4/6/06 4:38pm comments. Our situation is similar. Our child has been bit by the same child in the past 5 weeks ~ 4 times (this particular Dracula's syndrome was thought to have been fixed, but has recently started biting again). One bite was on my child's face and broke skin not too far below her eye. The next morning we went to speak with the owners of the child care center. They were supposed to get back with us regarding their plan of action. It's been 2 weeks and 2 additional bites since we spoke with them. The center has confirmed that they are aware of this Dracula. It is really tough when Dracula loves to bite my child. And, I can see that my child understands that she has been bitten and that bites are not good. Any suggestions on how we can deal with this Dracula at day care? Thank you.

Unfortunately, since you are not present when your child is bit, it is nearly impossible for you to actually do anything directly about the biting behavior. However, you may be able to assist your child in dealing with the child who bites. You don’t share the ages of the two children. Depending upon verbal skills and personality, it is possible that if your child is beginning to use words to express his or her opinion that you can help your child to know what to say to the child who bites. A strong, “I don’t like it” can sometimes work. If nothing else, it will alert the teachers that a conflict is in progress. If the children are as old as three, your son or daughter may be able to recognize when s/he is at risk of being bitten; you can talk about how to react or and get needed assistance.

What concerns me the most in your comment is that the child care center owners promised to get back with you and even after two-weeks have still not spoken to you about their plan of action. After three days, I would have asked again unless they specifically said something like, “We will let you know our plan of action on Thursday.” Two weeks is a long time for young children and parents to wait for action. Do not be afraid to be outspoken in your need for information. It may simply be that the owners are busy and have assumed, wrongly, that you are feeling patient where you are not.