Biting

[Nokidshere]

A 3 year old that I mind has come to me today with a bite mark on his arm -its a bruise but very definitly a bite mark. I assumed that he and his sibling had been fighting - not an unusual occurance. The boy said that daddy had bitten him because he had bit daddy hard on the face.

I know there are people who feel that biting a child back is acceptable in order to teach them not to do it although obviously I dont subscribe to that theory myself.

Have logged the mark but done nothing else as yet.

Any thoughts please?

That's disgusting! How could any parent bite their own child :(

oh dear that's a tricky one to deal with. You would be amazed at the amount of parents who would actually bite back their child if they bit them. I would not myself.

I am a cm and mum of four. You need to speak to dad and let him know that as a cm you are legally required to investigate marks etc found on a child on arrival.

I am not sure what you will do next, maybe someone can answer that. All the best.

If this is an isolated incident I'd probably do nothing. Parents make mistakes, he may or may not feel bad about it and done it in the spur of the moment. I'd maybe have a chat with mum or dad, maybe say ' he said dad bit him!' And see what the response is. I'd be tempted to give my view on the issue. Maybe say ' ohh, I've had this situation before, and it actually made it worse, as child thought it was ok to bite when we are cross' even if not true, it's a good way of putting across your opinion without offending parents. I think reporting parents to social services, should be reserved for suspected abuse, not just a one off incident like this. I've lost my cool before with my child and given a smack on the hand- I felt terrible, new it was wrong, and haven't don't it again. I'd hate to think someone would report me due to this one isolated incident, cause like I said, we all make mistakes with our kids. However, if you suspect other abuse or if child has mentioned anything else, or does so in the future, I'd re think and possibly report. It's a difficult situation for you to deal with, I'd go with your gut instinct.

Thank you. I logged it and left it with mum to deal with. Hopefully he will see that biting a child back makes no sense as a form of punishment. I have made it clear though that anything further will be reported.