22 Month Old Bites at Day Care

Hi.  I have a very sweet 2 year old son whom I recently found out started biting at day care.  He doesn't do this at home & it seems to be mainly only 1 child at day care that he bites.  (Who happens to be the one who chose to pick on my son when he was biting & hitting in his few month phase a couple of months ago...this child is 26 months old).  I am very upset by this even though I know it can be a normal phase.  What is ther best way to nip this in the bud now as we have twins due this summer & I don't want to have to worry about my son biting them or getting kicked out of his daycare which we love.  

My provider says that my son is one of the most loving & helpful children she has in her care, so she was shocked by this.  She said he's never mad when he does it, the children can just be playing & he goes up & bites them.  She started trying time outs (which I have also a couple of times, though he doesn't really act out at home), but yesterday she told me that about 3 different times he went up & bit a child in the arm & then ran over to the time out chair & sat down himself.  That worries me as it makes me think he knows he did something bad, but did it anyway.  Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.  Thank you!!

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

The time out plan is correct and should continue. In addition, after the time out is over, he should be made to play by himself for a while (e.g., fifteen minutes) before he can play with another child.