Baby Bites Baby

I have a grand daughter who, of course, is wonderful. She is cute, fun, full of wonder, and, as I write this, a little over 14 months old. She is also a biter. The other day at her preschool day care center she bit another baby. I was not present when this happened, so I can only assume what provoked this Hannibal Lector-esque action was some type of action taken by the other baby. Perhaps the other baby invaded my grand daughter's space. Perhaps the other baby attempted to take something my grand daughter did not want to share at that particular moment. No matter the cause, my grand daughter was compelled to protect her turf.

Do not misunderstand, I am not here to defend my grand daughter's action. Biting is wrong unless it  is a hot summer day, you are sitting in the backyard with friends and cold drinks, and you are holding in your hands a corn-on-the-cobb that is dripping with butter. Who among us would not bite down on that morsel until every edible part of it was gone? But I digress. My grand daughter did what she did because, at this time in her young life given the situation and her limited resources, she communicated in the only way she knew how. I say this not to excuse her behavior, but rather to state the reality of the situation.

If a similar situation occurs, say, five years from now, it is my hope and assumption that my grand daughter will handle matters differently. At that point, instead of biting (even though it will still be part of her arsenal) she will invoke a different communication strategy such as yell, make use of her hands, share her displeasure directly with the now older other baby, or bring the situation to the attention of the teacher and let that person work it out. Whatever she does then, no doubt she will communicate differently because she will know more and have more tools at her disposal. Her challenge, five years from now and for the remainder of her life will be to use communication tools that properly convey her message, yet in a manner that is honest and respectful