Dakota County Child Care Licensing has kits that help providers work with reducing biting behaviors in children. The kits are created to be loaned to caregivers for one month. They contain information that will help you lead children to being assertive instead of aggressive.
To request a kit, contact your licensing worker. There is a waiting list. Kits will be brought to your home when available.
The kit includes:
- Guiding Children from Biting to Assertiveness booklet (the provider may keep the booklet at the end of the 30 days if they wish). This booklet includes information and ideas on how to work with children who are exhibiting aggression and attention getting through biting.
- Five books for children
- Teeth are Not for Biting
- Hands are Not for Hitting
- Words are Not for Hurting
- No Hitting
- When You’re Mad and You Know It
- Four posters which include rules that children need to learn in order to become assertive. These posters include words and pictures and should be posted on your wall where children can see them during the month. The rules are part of the monthly activity.
- Feelings photos with activity ideas to go along with them to help children recognize feelings. The activities will help you teach children how to express their own feelings.
- A wall activity entitled “Teeth are For” which is an activity to help children recognize the positive aspect of their teeth and not remind them of the negative.
- A laminated stop sign which is used for activities in the booklet and will help all the children learn what stop is in a fun, positive manner. It will also help children recognize that they can say “stop” to something that is hurtful.
This kit is designed to stay with the provider for one month while you incorporate a variety of the information and activities into your program.
Making your own biting kits
If you choose, you may make your own kit by downloading the following items, printing them off and laminating the activities and posters so that you may work with them in your child care at various times.
(When making your own "Teeth are for" activity from attachments below, laminate all pages, glue a magnet strip on the upper poster with picture of teeth for your refrigerator and glue on the front side at bottom of this poster a piece of velcro. Glue the opposite part of the velcro to the back side of the activity pictures so that children can attach these to each other.)
Biting Handbook
Rule Posters
Feelings Activity Photos
"Teeth are for" Activity
Book List
Stop Sign for Activities