toddler adviSe?

*Barbie*

Wolverine has a biter in her daycare class. She's been bitten 2x this week. We noticed the marks on her hand on Monday after we got home and it was too late to call and ask about it. We brought it up to the teachers yesterday, and the afternoon ladies saw the marks on monday but throught the am teachers said something. DK spoke with the am teachers today, since we had not been notified.

DK got a call about an hour ago that she was bitten again today. The teachers know who the biter is, and are addressing it with the kid's parents. She was bitten once before, and one of the kids was moved out of the room the next week, so we're assuming that was the one who did it.

She's a bit too young for DK to start teaching her Kenpo - anything we can do to help her defend herself?

DG1

She's 15m? I don't think there's much you can do. She can say "not nice" and tell a teacher or something.

But you should definitely be notified about each incident, what happened, and what action was taken. We get notes when it happens so the teachers don't have to remember when the parent comes.

tawillers

I would not teach her to physically defend herself at this age - though I'm assuming you're joking.

I would try to teach her to tell the biter "No thank you!"  It's what we did at the daycare I worked at years ago.  I understand she's only 15 mo, is she saying any of those three words?  Maybe just "No" for now?

6fsn

Kids bite.  The teachers need to be the ones to address the biter.  Says the mom of a biter.

*Barbie*

yup - 15 mo.

i figured at this age there isn't much we can do except talk to the daycare providers, but it is worth a shot.

DG1

My kids were saying almost nothing at 15m. Like, maybe 3-5 words total. Late talkers.

I always thought mine would be the biters, but there was one week where Dex got bitten 3 times. Our daycare won't kick out biters, especially at that age. Which I admit is probably good, since there's so little the parents can do about it at that point. But I was finally like, "Look. I need to be able to drop him off and not worry all day about whether he is being bitten."

I think our biter left on their own shortly after that, because I think it's only happened twice more in 2 years.

*Barbie*

i don't know if they would eventually kick out the biter - but more likely than not move them up into the next class level like they did with the other kid.
(Assuming this kid would now be the youngest / have the least developed abilities, and wouldn't "bully" the other older/more developed kids)

6fsn

I'm still pissed about 6let getting the boot.  The teacher in the next room was willing to take him and thought he was ready.  The director didn't think he was ready.  The director that never saw him.  Ironically, he went to the older room in the new place and didn't have an incident in the 2 weeks he was there.

DG1

I'm still pissed about that for you, 6.


In semirelated news, Desmo just officially moved up to the next room, 3 months after he was legally allowed to, because they just got room. He and Dex are in the same class for a bit, but I think Dex will be moving up when the next spot becomes available.

I'm actually having to start to think about what to do with our extra year, given Dex's stupid October birthday. (The things you don't think of when TTC!) The kid is starting to sound out words NOW, but they want me to wait 3 more years to send him to kindergarten?  Anyway, that's another post.

Keep us posted on the biting.

Wzz

Dg, does that mean he has to start school a year later than he would if he were born in september?

does that mean both kids will be in the same grade?

6fsn

I'm confused too zilla.  Dex has the sameish bday though so they'd still have a year between them.

Wzz

oh, maybe both kids get an extra year because of the birthdays. i forgot that the second one is even later in the year.

redheadtmk

DG-
I would check into having him tested to see if he can start early. That is what my sister had to do with my younger nephew. He missed the cut off by three weeks. He had to pass with a 95 percentile rating (not sure what test they used) and did it with flying colors. It is worth it to see if your school district has a similar offering. I also know another child who went to a private religous school for kindergarten and then was able to switch to the public school for first. Just some options to look into before resigning yourself to him starting a year later.