Reality Bites: Biting at the Center

What's In This Kit?
This training kit is designed to introduce teachers to explore a multifaceted approach to handling biting in the classroom. It contains:

• Expected training outcomes
• Preparation instructions
• Training strategies and tips
• Implementation steps
• Follow-up activities for teachers
• Follow-up activities for administrators/directors
• A learning assessment
• A training evaluation/further needs assessment
• A resource list
• The article “Reality Bites: Biting at the Center�"Part I” and “Reality Bites (Frequently): Biting at the Center�"Part II” by Jim Greenman
• A training certificate to award to teachers for attendance and participation
• A certificate for the trainer and other presenters

Who's the Target Audience?
The target audience for this kit is infant and toddler teachers working with children from age birth through age 3. Teachers will learn about how to address biting in their classrooms.

Teacher Skill Level

beginning intermediate advanced

Children's Age Level

infants toddlers preschoolers school-agers birth to 8

Kit Timeline:
Preparation time for this kit is 1 hour. Implementation time is estimated at 1.5 hours.

Training Outcomes:

1. 1. Teachers will explore the different perspectives from which one might view biting behavior in the classroom including the child’s perspective, the family’s perspective, and the teacher’s perspective.
2. 2. Teachers will understand the developmental nature of biting behavior and how it makes participants feel (including how the child who bites might feel, how the child who is bitten might feel, how the family might feel, and how the teachers might feel).
3. 3. Teachers will develop a comprehensive approach to handling biting that includes a focus on the child who bites, the child who is bitten, the family, the classroom, the schedule, and the teachers’ problem solving strategies.
4. 4. Teachers will consider the additional perspectives of the other children in the classroom and the other families in the classroom.

These training outcomes address the following:

• A-6a, A6b of the Accreditation Criteria and Procedures of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC, 1998)
• Standard 1, 3, 4, and 5 of NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation, Initial Licensure Level (naeyc, 2003). 1304.40(e)(1), (3), and (5); 1304.21 (b)(3)(1) and (2)(i); 1304.21(a)(3)(i)(E) of Head Start Performance Standards (Federal Register, Nov. 5, 1996, Volume 61, Number 215).

Note: Downloadable PDFs are only available for download in pdf format. Directions for downloading follow immediately after purchase.