Discipline/Biting

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverb 22:6

At Happy Hearts we believe that discipline offers an opportunity to teach responsible behavior. We practice "preventive discipline" by providing children with challenging and absorbing activities, and by treating them with warmth and realistic rules and expectations. Children who misbehave are gently, but firmly reminded of what is expected of them.

In most cases a simple reminder, explanation or redirection (removal of the problem toy or changing the environment) is all that is needed. Hurting others either physically or verbally is never acceptable behavior and saying "I'm sorry" and "You're forgiven" are a part of the routine. If a situation arises and the teacher has dealt with it, we do not believe the child’s parents should discipline the child again at home. So, should a caregiver report an incident to you, listen to determine what action is required on your part. If in doubt, please ask.

We really see you as our Team leader when it comes to your child.

Biting: Unfortunately, biting of oneself and of others commonly occurs with older infants and toddlers. Each and every one of us has a strong dislike of the act. Here at Happy Hearts the staff work hard to comfort the "victim" as well as preventing the biter from biting. Often we are able to discern the cause of the bite - aggression, frustration, teething, and inappropriate attention getting are easiest to identify. We consider this a behavioral concern not a discipline problem.

As often as possible, and especially if the skin is broken, we make it a priority to let both the parents of the biter and the victim know about the bite. Together we will work on plans of prevention and discipline when appropriate.

We take this very seriously and we encourage you to talk to us about concerns you may have. I would also like to clarify that we typically do not ask parents to remove a child from our program because of biting unless a parent refuses to work with us on the problem.