An ignominious event

Apparently, a spate of biting has recently occurred at daycare. Margaret and the kids near her age such as Sean, Katie and Lucas have started to recognize that they can act as hindrances to each other. Most prominently, I want that toy that you have, but inconveniently, you currently have it. Most of the time, the standard reaction to such a confrontation for both parties is to scream. Which is loud and unpleasant, but not very effective. But one of her cohort seems to have learned that biting can serve as a more effective defense mechanism to ward off intrusions into personal space and attempts to appropriate a toy. Last week, Margaret was sent home with an "Occurrence Report" which informed us that Margaret had received a bite from one of her "good friends." Reportedly, Margaret wasn't too upset by the event, although she did have a small red ring on her arm that basically tracked a mouth. Per center policy, the perpetrator was not identified.

Ms. Jakki later informed me that they had experienced a rash of such episodes over the last week or so. While it started with one serial biter, other kids, being quick learners, also picked up the trick. She said that it was tough to deal with since you can't really discipline a 1 year old, so their strategy was to monitor closely the past offenders. It would appear that biting is an effective communication method for kids who generally lack the ability to communicate effectively. "Hmm, such a difficult problem," I clucked sympathetically (and not a little self-righteously.) "I'm glad that Margaret hasn't shown any tendency towards biting."

At least, that is, until today. When picking Margaret up today, I had a dreaded "Occurrence Report" waiting for me. Perhaps I should have anticipated it given her proclivity for smacking Mama or Papa on the head when pitching a fit, but we found out that "Margaret was playing with her friend. She also wanted the same toy that her friend was playing with." At which point "Margaret bit her friend's right hand." Such shame....