DS has just turned 3, and we have had sporadic reports of biting since he was around 18 months. For unavoidable reasons (unexpected house moves) he is now in his fourth nursery setting. This is definitely the most rigid - it’s attached to a prep school that we really want him to attend. Since starting there; the biting seems to have ramped up and I’m getting 2-3 phone calls a week (he’s there full time in term time, 8:30-3:30). Him starting also coincided with a new baby although he has been very sweet and affectionate with his DSis.
The nursery have tried a few things, shadowing him, distracting etc. and they will take him away and read “Teeth are not for biting” (we also have a copy of this at home). He very rarely bites at home, and when he does - or attempts to - it’s when he’s very tired and frustrated whereas at nursery there doesn’t seem to be just one trigger.
There are a couple of other things too. He has a brilliant vocabulary from books and stories, bur prefers to tell stories or talk about animals or the things he wants to talk about - he won’t often have an adult-led conversation eg he won’t respond if I ask him how his day was, what he wants to eat, what toy does he want to play with etc. He also won’t stand or sit nicely likely the other children - for example, the took them all out (a mixed class of 3 and 4 year olds) for a remembrance ceremony and all the children were stood lined up in the pictures except my son who was lounging on the ground. On many of the group pictures he’s not sitting engaging but instead in the background playing with something completely different.
My head goes back and forth thinking he’s so young, these are normal behaviours etc to thinking he’s the odd one out and even if there’s something wrong. I had the HV out for DD and spent most of the time talking about DS instead, but she wasn’t concerned at all and thinks the nursery are the issue.
Although it’s not been said explicitly, I’m starting to think he will be asked to leave the setting. They are having to call parents two or three times a week to say their child has been bitten and given the fact they undoubtedly want all those children to continue on into the prep school there’s probably a business interest in my son being removed (although to be fair they have always said the other parents have been understanding etc).
Sorry for the long post. I think I just want to know if this is normal and if not; where do I go from here?