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Notes -
Working in a childcare setting (don't worry, I'm not dealing directly with the kids), the whole point of the "oh no, are you having a moment?" stuff is follow-through. You help the kid identify their feelings (angry, frustrated, etc.) and then you go on to coping strategies ('we don't bite/throw stuff/hit when we feel sad/angry, what we do is....') and what behaviour is acceptable and what is not. No yelling or smacking but you don't just let it go.
Kids go through a biting phase, all kids. That's why we have a written-down biting policy in place to be followed. But if the kid continues to bite (as per one case recently) that's when you get the therapist or educational psychologist or whomever involved.
So mom may be embarrassed and that might be good if it motivates her to start follow-through, but if she's going to go with "he just does that" then it's bad parenting. She's probably let him have his way up to now, and he will have a melt-down if she tries to discipline him, and she doesn't know how to cope with that (and feels bad if he starts crying because she made him feel sad like a big meanie) but sometimes you do have to be a big meanie for the betterment of your kid.
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