The latest happened over Memorial Day weekend to an Arlington, Texas teenager. Conner Norman was camping with his family at Lloyd Park on Joe Pool Lake when a copperhead bit the back of his heel. His father, Kip Norman, says his son was walking back to the campsite after taking his sister for a ride on a jet ski when it happened.

"He came into the camper and said 'Dad, I just got bit by a copperhead," Norman said. "I was in disbelief at first, until I turned around and saw his face."

Norman and the family rushed to the emergency room at a local adult hospital. Staff there decided to transfer the teen to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth. Though his foot and leg swelled nearly twice the normal size, the snake didn't inject enough venom to warrant anti-venom treatment. Conner was closely monitored and released the next day, which also happened to be his birthday.

"He turned 15 at midnight in the ED at Cook Children's. I guess the snake was trying to give him a birthday kiss," Norman joked.

Thankfully, the family can laugh about it now because Conner is going to be just fine.

WFAA-TV reported that a Granbury toddler was bitten by a copperhead snake while on a playground at daycare. The child's father told the TV station that the little girl's finger turned black and became swollen.

At Cook Children's, between 17 and 25 children have been admitted due to snake bites each year since 2013.

"We’ve already seen several snake bites this year," said Sharon Evans Trauma/Injury Prevention outreach coordinator at Cook Children’s. “The numbers we’ve seen are not above normal, but it’s always a good idea to warn children about snakes.”

Evans says it’s not just live snakes that pose a threat either.

“We’ve seen bites that occurred after a snake was killed. Often the parents or kids want to get a closer look of the ‘dead’ snake and the head still had the reflex to bite.”

With the recent rain in North Texas, snakes may be seeking dry areas and may be spotted in places you wouldn't normally see them. Parents shouldn't be alarmed, but this is a good reminder to talk to your kids about snake safety.

Here are nine tips to start the conversation with your child:

1. Don't touch a snake
2. Don't try to kill a snake
3. Ignore the snake if you see it
4. Wear closed-toe shoes in wooded areas
5. Don't put fingers under rocks or crawl under houses or other structures
6. Don't canoe or boat under limbs on rivers, streams or lakes
7. Avoid edges of lakes, streams and rivers where vegetation is high
8. Instruct your children to notify you if they see a snake 
9. If bitten by a snake, seek medical help immediately. DO NOT open the wound or try to suck out the venom. 

One of the biggest stories centers around the suspension of Luis Suarez for biting an Italian defender.  It’s not the first time he has done it either.

I usually tell families that their kids will outgrow this problem, but I guess if you’re a world-class soccer player, that’s not always true.

What do we do when our child is the biter?

First off, this happens ALL THE TIME…

Your child is not the first child who has bitten and won’t be the last so let’s be calm.

There’s really just a few things you can and need to do in these situations …

When the bite has already happened

Separate biter and the bitten child.  This helps the “victim” feel safer and diffuses whatever frustration caused the biting in the first place.

Try to talk it out.  Often you are dealing with a pre-verbal child, but it is still important to try and talk about the situation that led up to the biting.  Usually the child who bit is just as scared as the child who was bitten.  You are typically dealing with young toddlers with limited verbal skills, but talking with them about their frustration/anger that led up to the biting can help them understand that there is a better way to express these emotions.

Preventing the Problem

The ultimate goal in helping with biting is to prevent the situation that leads to biting in the first place.  The key to this is: distraction, distraction and distraction.  Keep the frequent biters from their trigger situations or be prepared to intervene quickly before the frustration levels begin to rise.

Or, Just Bite Them Back

Of course, everyone has had a family member or someone tell them that this is the best way to get a biter to stop and while it may have worked for them in the past, I feel that this strategy is simply modeling the behavior you are trying to extinguish.  Toddlers learn best through seeing their parents’ actions and having your parent bite you only makes you think that is appropriate behavior.

About the author

Justin Smith, M.D., is a Cook Children's pediatrician in Lewisville . He has a particular interest in development, behavior and care for children struggling with obesity. In his spare time, he enjoys playing with his three young children, exercising, reading and writing about parenting and pediatric health issues.He attended University of Texas, Southwestern Medical School and did his pediatric training at Baylor College of Medicine. He joins Cook Children's after practicing in his hometown of Abilene for four years. He has a particular interest in development, behavior and care for children struggling with obesity. In his spare time, he enjoys playing with his 3 young children, exercising, reading and writing about parenting and pediatric health issues.