The biter

When Evan doesn't get his way with his sister, he surreptitiously reaches over, grabs her hand and slowly sinks his teeth into her hand. Most times that he does it, it is provoked. Baby J probably snatched something from him, either something that he wanted or that he actually was playing with. We scold him for biting. But we also scold Jordan for snatching and causing him to behave in that way.

Then, we get a note from school saying that Evan did the same thing in school. That he bit some other kid and it was apparently unprovoked. Part of me felt like I needed to take Evan aside and give him a talking to, as much as a 21 month old can understand. The other part of me felt that it wasn't Evan's fault and it was probably provoked, just that the teacher did not see it.

At that point, I stop short and ask myself. Am I one of those parents that cannot accept that my child has done wrong and I need to find someone else to blame? I hope not. I sincerely think that Evan is guileless and will only retaliate when provoked. But then again, do I let him get away with it scot free? No. So, what to do? Find out who got bit and try and apologise to the parent? Instruct the teacher that such a thing could happen again and is unacceptable? Indulge him and tell him it's ok? Definitely not the third. An ideal situation would be a combination of first and second. And only time would tell I guess.


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