12 Yr Old 7Th Grader Bit by Classmate Today What to Do?

My son was assaulted...and I wasn't allowed to know ANYTHING about the other child...the principle couldn't even tell me his name. I have no idea what discipline or if ANYTHING at all was done to or for the other child.

It happened on the bus...and I couldn't even find out if the other child would still be on the bus or not...so I can't even allow my son to ride the bus anymore, because who knows if the other child is on there and going to retaliate.

Sometimes these "privacy" rules are ridiculous!!

A 12 year old biter? Wow.
If the skin was broken, I would maybe have your son checked out so the incident is documented, but, if they were in a chlorinated pool, germs should hopefully not be too big a problem. I would take pictures to document it as well.
You will have to contact the school on Monday to get all the details and find out what to do from there.

Sorry this happened.
Best wishes.

Did the bite break the skin? If so then I would check the status of your son's Tetanus shot. I would also insist that the parents of the other child have him tested for HIV, Hep B and C and herpes. I worked in A peds office before and have seen children who had HIV and Hepatitis. Make sure your child is safe.

Take a PHOTO of his injury... and DOCUMENT everything. Right away.
AND TAKE YOUR SON TO THE DOCTOR... for further documentation "proof."

YOU need to follow up and ASK what actions will be taken. The school would not want trouble over this... or you getting an Attorney etc.

For legal reasons the school can't tell you what disciplinary action will be taken. (I know it's infuriating, but think about it - if your son punched someone, would you want anyone - including the punchee's parents - knowing exactly what happened to your son in response?) My hope would be that it would be considered a very serious infraction - suspension at a minimum.

My guess is that this child is troubled (biting? At age 12?) and is already under the eye of teachers at school. Do check in with your son after break and see what he knows - kids have a way of finding out what happened, even though the teachers and administrators can't tell them. I think it probably would be a good idea to take a couple pictures, just in case. Hopefully it will be addressed swiftly and firmly.

Good luck.

I agree with all the safety and legality advice you have received. From an emotional standpoint, review the "bully talk" with your son to make sure he reacts appropriately with this child for the rest of the time they are in school together.

It is important for your son to realize that while the action was pre-school behavior, it is still peer bullying and this kid is working through his anger response. Your son and his friends retaliating on the playground or verbal bantering will not help your son or this child who still completely has a chance of working through his own emotional turmoil and making it to adulthood without being fingerprinted.

Get a plan in place with your son for how he'll handle things if this turns into a bully situation. Is this a small school? Do you know the kid? While the school can't release info, it isn't illegal for you to approach the boy's parents if you want to know more about the story behind the story. Although, parents are a wild card in these situations too, so make sure you have pure intentions before going down this route.

Anyways, good luck!

Oh! Did the skin break? I'm sure the school nurse made sure to clean the wound well, but keep an eye on the bite to make sure it does not get infected. Human bites can be nasty. I would also call his pediatrician and make sure you don't need to take other precautionary measures, like a tetanus shot or something like that. As far as the disciplinary issue, I would let the school handle it, but I think it's within your rights to be apprised of the action they take and to make sure that your child is safe going forward.

So far I agree with most all of the answers I have read! I'd be curious about the mental health of the biter...does he have a developmental challenge? Obviously the priority is making sure your sons medical and protection needs are in place, but for a youth to bite indicates a greater problem and a potential problem for your son if he gets in trouble and decides to hold a grudge against your son. Bullies rarely recognize they got themselves in trouble...it's always someone else's fault...ugh!

I might talk with the principal and/or school counselor and find out what their strategy is for getting the bully some extra attention in terms of mentoring or programs that work with troubled youth to build confidence and get back on the right track. Bullies, in my experience, are insecure people who exert control where they can because they feel out of control in other situations (i.e., home, emotional regulation, school struggles, etc.). If the school can intervene in a positive and long-term focused kind of way, this benefits everyone, including potential future victims.

I'm not saying the biter shouldn't be disciplined...he needs to be held accountable. And I'm not saying you should take the lead or even play a large role in the bully's solution. I guess I'm just suggesting that discipline for single offenses rarely stops a bully from future bullying and that I would advocate for the school to play a larger role in helping to shape this young man into someone who doesn't feel the need to bully and learns how to thrive instead of instigate problems (he doesn't win for bullying, even if he thinks he does).

Good luck with all of this! It sounds very stressful and infuriating for sure!!!

WTH?!!! I would not let this slide either. I would start by INSISTING that this kid is never in another class with my child again and that he is removed from this years class also. Threaten to involve the cops if they will not put this child in another class. The kids is mental and who knows what else he will do.

First concern is get your son to a doctor. Who knows what this kid has. Then worry about discipline.

A good lesson to everyone to discipline their children early or the will grow up and behave like a child.

Most definitely stay on top of wanting to know what action will be taken. Bitting in preschool, somewhat understandable since they cannot express themselves yet, bitting in Kindergarten ...maybe if it was in self defense...bitting in 7th grade....no excuse whatsoever! This boy has serious mental problems if he is bitting to get his own way. Do not let this get blown off. Insist that the boy see a counselor at the very least. He is in great need of some help. Oh, and I have no idea what a diving brick is?? I never went to a grammar or high school that had a pool. If it's heavy, the next thing will be that the boy will use that as a weapon instead of his mouth. Make sure, whatever you do, have this on your son's permenant record and insist that it is put on the other boy's record as well. They may end up in high school together...the other boy may have other offences after this one (or may have already had one)..you need to be your son's advocate and make sure that this is documented even if they do not want to take any "action" against him. Make sure if the boy broke skin, that you take your son to the Dr. and make sure that his shots are up to date. Good luck, hopefully the school already has a system in place that requires them to put this in their records.

I would have to wait and hear what everyone has to say; principal,
child, his family and go from there. Make sure you document everything.
There may be extenuating circumstances in this childs life (not that it
gives him a right to bite another person). Good luck and let us know
what happens. He absolutely must be disciplined appropriately. I would
hope there would be a meeting with both families.

If it broke the skin... you need to go to the doc... the human mouth is disgusting. In addition to all the STDs (stds are all transferable via the blood), we have SO many different kinds of bacteria in our mouths. More than any other animal human bites have a tendency to fester, and the infections can be deadly and quite fast acting. They can also be harmless. It depends on a lot of factors.

Here's a legit article to read on the subject http://www.emedicinehealth.com/human_bites/article_em.htm

When my daughter, a 7th grader, was beaned in the head with a rock during recess, I went to the school personally. I asked the asst principal what the next steps were... and whether I should call the police or would they. I didn't think it was necessary to actually take that step however I believed saying that would indicate to them how seriously I took this incident and that I expected an appropriate reaction from the school.

Whether you take the approach of inquiring about involving police or not, at the very least, you should make a personal appearance.

I hope this helps. Best to you and your son.