From Annie in Houston:

“My toddler has recently started biting. I’ve talked it over with our pediatrician and she assures me its common behavior at his age and has given me some tips on how to curb this behavior. Unfortunately his daycare is not very understanding. They are threatening to kick him out if he continues to bite. Can they kick a kid out for developmentally normal behavior?”

Tough one Annie.

First of all, your pediatrician is right. I went through the “biting phase” with all four of my kids and they do grow out of it.

But unfortunately, the answer to your questions is yes, your child’s daycare center can kick your child out.

Sorry to state the obvious, but your child isn’t the only child they are responsible for. While your child’s behavior is developmentally normal, it’s causing problems for the kids at the center who are at the receiving end of his bites. Remember for every note home you get about your son’s behavior, another note goes home to the parents of the child who was bitten.

Your daycare center may very well be receiving complaints from other parents, who like you, are paying good money and expect a certain standard of care for their child in return. No matter how patient and nurturing your daycare is, at the end of the day it’s a business and like any other business, it’s concerned about retaining customers and liability.

With that said, to see if you have any legal recourse, you need to check the terms of the contract you signed when you enrolled your child. Also, check with your state daycare licensing standards and requirements. In some states, if your daycare receives any state funding, they are prohibited from expelling kids.

Good luck Annie.

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