Child taken out of day care school after being bitten
MIDRAND - Parents and grandparents of a two-and-a-half-year-old boy want to raise awareness of an incident that takes place in aftercare or daycare centres.
The family, whose names are known to Midrand Reporter but have been withheld to protect the identity of the child, said a daycare centre in Midrand did not do enough after their son was bitten many times by another child at the school.
The boy came home after school with bite marks on his cheek, arm and feet. The parents tried to resolve the matter with the school but they claim they did not get satisfactory assistance.
The family has since withdrawn the boy from the school.
Speaking to Midrand Reporter the mother said, “We spoke to the school about the recurring incidents of biting, they finally promised to bring in a professional psychologist – but it was too little too late.”
The school spoke to the paper on grounds of anonymity in case the matter is taken to court.
In a statement a school representative said the school has a written policy and process for resolving such matters.It said, “… The school has had similar incidents of biting and, just like any other daycare, this is a common phenomenon amongst toddlers.”
He explained that the school had been planning to intervene and speak to both children involved, but the child who was bitten did not attend school after that. He stressed that the “school has appropriately trained staff to handle such incidents”.
A registered counsellor specialising in play therapy, Debbie Schewitz said that such incidents are unfortunate but common amongst young children. She pointed out that for toddlers, biting is part of their development at that stage in life.
She explained, “Toddlers bite due to a lack of communicative skills and the need to express feelings such as anger, frustration or just to gain some attention.
“However, a parent or guardian can respond by suggesting alternatives to the child on how to handle situations [rather] than to bite, and to explain to the child that biting hurts others.”
The counsellor said that in some cases parents discourage their children by gently and lightly biting the child back so the child can understand how it feels for the person they are biting. She added that some parents find this option a bit extreme.
