Handling Hitting, Biting, and Aggression

Aggression in young children.

Stay in a preschool for more than a few hours, and one can observe a child getting injured by a peer or hear loud cries of agony. Then (hopefully), you will see a concerned adult immediately running towards the aid of the injured child and then being firm on the perpetrator. Welcome to a normal day in kindergarten.

In this article, some observable factors as to why a child displays violent behaviours will be discussed, then some other underlying reasons are also stated, and finally, suggestions for parents or teachers to deal with these situations will be provided.

To kick things off, here are three reasons why violent behaviour is happening: The environment, the inability to speak, and imitation.

The environment affects the types of aggression children show, particularly biting, and adults need to see beyond the behaviour to understand the reason behind it, usually caused by an unfamiliar environment with challenges, as children attempt to interact with each other (Piazzaroli & Fiamenghi-Jr, 2018). A child might get frustrated at a peer’s action, or he might be struggling on his first day of school. If the root issue is not resolved, aggression will definitely happen again.

From the moment they are born until they are almost four years old, children will display reactions based on whether they like or dislike an environment, because they use fewer words and more gestures, possibly violent ones, to get what they want, such as owning a space, having a toy, or getting an adult’s attention (Piazzaroli & Fiamenghi-Jr, 2018). While adults should teach children to use language to get what they want, before they can use words, adults should be vigilant and observant in the classroom. They have to understand triggers before they happen and set up a learning environment that ensures such incidents will not occur, such as providing plenty of learning materials.

Children will repeat behaviour in school based on what they learned at home, but the most crucial aspect is that adults mediating during conflicts can help children understand that there are other ways to respond, particularly in providing situations for children to learn how to respond (Piazzaroli & Fiamenghi-Jr, 2018). Teachers and parents can create false situations and get children to problem-solve, to pre-empt them on positive or negative behaviours before they occur. Similarly, they can also learn appropriate responses to prevent other peers from hurting them.

Although there are also some underlying reasons that aggression occurs more frequently, this proves that children are not as simple as adults may think they are.

Children with mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder, can be very aggressive on one hand or only aggressive when triggered, while children with psychotic illnesses like schizophrenia are triggered by internal reasons because of fear and display violence towards others (Silva, 2025). These mood disorders can cause a child to switch in emotions, and they have consistent emotions and thoughts that are difficult to handle, which need early medical attention to improve their life in the future (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2026).

Even children with cognition or communication problems will lash out when they are unable to communicate their needs and emotions, whereas for impulsivity like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), these children are not aware of their actions and may hurt others unknowingly, and for those with conduct disorder are deliberately hurting others and require certain treatments (Silva, 2025). Both ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) are mental disorders that can cause a child to display violence more often, and they need therapy to help cope with these symptoms.

Injury and trauma are also reasons for aggression, because when the frontal lobe is damaged or when a child has epilepsy, aggression can occur at any time, whereas trauma occurs when a child recalls stressors in the situation, and they need help if aggression persists (Silva, 2025). Compared to mental disorders, a physical injury or traumatic event is more obvious in understanding how or why a child reacts in a certain manner.

Lastly, here are some suggestions on how to deal with a child who displays violent behaviour.

Discipline is not punishment, but punishment is just a form of discipline, and there are five steps teachers can respond to bad behaviour: Firstly, teachers have to understand their influence on behaviour, secondly, teachers need to be assertive, thirdly, teachers need a discipline plan with written rules and consequences, fourthly, teachers help children to reach the plan, and fifthly, teachers guide children on appropriate behaviour (Martella, Nelson, Marchand-Martella, & O'Reilly, 2012). It is often said that prevention is better than cure, and while not every behaviour can be analysed as discussed above, it is wise for teachers to have a clear understanding of child behaviour and to pre-empt incidents from happening.

If an incident were to happen, the goal is to ensure it does not happen again, by understanding the root of the issue because when a child is angry they are no longer thinking, so a timeout will not work but may encourage the behaviour to reoccur, so an adult should help the child to regulate emotions as he displays aggression because he is hurting, then when the child is calm the adult can use reasoning to explain other alternatives than hitting someone (Markham, 2013). During the heat of the moment, an adult may feel it is necessary to punish the child who hurt someone; moreover, it is the adult’s responsibility in that setting. However, the wrong actions could lead to a spiral of negative behaviour.

Therefore, these are the possible reasons for aggression to occur in young children, and there are some steps an educator or parent can take.

 

References

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. (2026). Mood Disorders in Children and Adolescents. Retrieved from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/mood-disorders-children-and-adolescents

Markham, L. (10 June, 2013). When Your Child Hits Your Other Child. Retrieved from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/sg/blog/peaceful-parents-happy-kids/201306/when-your-child-hits-your-other-child

Martella, R. C., Nelson, J. R., Marchand-Martella, N. E., & O'Reilly, M. (2012). Comprehensive behavior management: Individualized, classroom, and schoolwide approaches. Los Angeles: Sage.

Piazzaroli, R. F., & Fiamenghi-Jr, G. A. (2018). Why Do Children Bite Each Other? American Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(1), 48-54. doi:10.20448/801.31.48.54

Silva, R. (30 January, 2025). What Are Some of the Causes of Aggression in Children? Retrieved from Child Mind Institute: https://childmind.org/article/aggression-in-children-causes/

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