To be worried about my DS being labelled naughty

[Worriedmum8555]

Just had a phonecall from my DSs reception teacher and he has bitten another child. It is not something he has ever done before and it was in retaliation to being hit but there is something so horrible about biting!

Teacher was lovely and wanted me to know that they dont think of DS as the type of child who usually behaves this way and i have spoken to the boy he bit's mum who was lovely about the whole thing.

I guess i am just worried that his card has been marked - that other kids will tell their parents etc and he will be labelled as not someone they should be playing with etc. I am not sure how common this type of thing is!

Please don't worry about it, you've handled it perfectly, the other Mum has been lovely, the school has reassured you (they'll see stuff like is all the time.

Also, he did this as reaction to something.

They're all kids, not mini adults, any adult that thinks otherwise of your Son is a big kid.

I thought biting was fairly common with young children, not acceptable on a continuous basis ofc, but once or twice seems normal.

Oh gosh, don’t worry. DS did the same thing in reception (similarly provoked - although obviously still completely unacceptable) and I was mortified. Prior to that occasion, he had been known as one of the sweet, gentle ones!

The kid he bit ended up being one of his best friends, so it clearly wasn’t held against him.

However, I was extremely severe with him upon pick-up (the teacher told him that she was telling me, so he knew what was coming), and he was extremely contrite and genuinely cried with guilt! We then discussed ways of managing any sudden bursts of anger and he agreed to write a letter to his friend apologising, along with giving his friend one of his small toys.

We agreed not to mention it again and agreed that there would be NO more incidents like this.

The other parents and children may have talked about it, but I never heard back and he carried on being treated normally by everyone.

He’s now 8 and just the loveliest boy - very caring and considerate.

Thanks for the reassurance. The headteacher has had to be involved because of the biting so i think in my head that just made it a big deal! I will be the first to admit my DS is boisterous and i just worry that combined with this it would give the wrong impression when actually he is very lovely and sensitive under his noisy exterior!