Children‘s facial proximity behaviour: a risk factor for facial bites?

The majority of dog bite accidents happen at home and involve children under the age of 7(Kahn et al. 2003) and a familiar dog. The prevalence of bites that lead to hospital treatment inchildren is double as in the general population (Kahn et al. 2004) and often children suffer fromdog bites resulting in facial injuries (Bernardo et al 2002, Kahn et al.2003; Schalamon et al 2006 ).Fifty-five percent of children suffer post-traumatic stress disorder following a substantial bite (Peterset al. 2004). According to research these bites are independent of the size of the dog (Kahnet al 2003), but more related to the age of the child – however, it is unclear why young childrenget bitten mainly in the face and neck area.As in the majority of cases (86 %, Kahn et al., 2003) children’s behaviour triggers bite injuries, westudied if young children’s tendency to lean in on objects of interest could be a contributing causeof facial bites. As young children’s tendency to lean in has only been anecdotally observed so far,we investigated if this leaning-in behaviour exists and under which conditions we can trigger suchbehaviour. More specifically and in relation to the risk of dog bites, we studied the role of smell,mobility, novelty and height of the object (e.g. positioned at floor, chair, table-level) on children’sfacial proximity and leaning-in behaviour. We used objects and toy animals as stimuli as well ascarrying out a first exploration with small animals.We video-recorded all trials and used a custom-made grid to code for physical proximity and leaningin behaviours. A total of 24 2-year-olds (7 females and 17 males), 24 3-year-olds (16 femalesand 8 males), 24 4-year-olds (15 females and 9 males), 24 5-year-olds (12 females and 12 males)and 24 6-year-olds (13 females and 11 males) participated in the study.Children showed highly significant effects of intrusive facial proximity especially with movingitems (e.g. animates/toy animals) or novel items ((F(2, 220) = 42.12, p < .0001; F(1, 110) = 13.17,p < .0001). A highly significant main effect for age was found (F(4, 115) = 6.43; p < .001). Childrenof 2 and 3 years showed significantly more proximity behaviours than 4-, 5- and 6-year-oldchildren. In addition, we also gathered first evidence that children show clear leaning-in behaviourwith small animals.Thus, we can raise parental awareness of younger children’s intrusive inspection behaviour, integratethis knowledge in prevention messages and contribute to reduction in bite injuries, especiallyto children’s faces.