3 Month Old Hits Himself in the Head

M.-
I was worried about the same thing with my son, he still bangs his head when he's tired! I was told that it is normal, but it can also indicate that he is uncomfortable in some way; teething etc. If he isn't doing himself damage I wouldn't worry about it. Take care!

This is a completely appropriate and NORMAL behavior for tired infants and children to display. ALL children do this throughout infant and childhood - he will do it for many years to come. My three year old still rubs her face into my shoulder when she is tired: there is no rhyme or reason to WHY they do it, its just a behavioral norm. All new parents are overly worrisome until you are comfortable with your parenting skills, but trust me, this is something that you should not worry about. Put it out of your head, it is normal - he cannot hurt himself. Just let him do whatever it is he needs to do to display that he is tired, or getting tired. Don't try to stop the behavior, just let it go and enjoy your time with him while he is little - it really does go by so fast!

I too have a three month old. She is doing the same thing when she is tired. She rubs her eyes now. I try to put her to bed before this starts, but have been noticing it more lately.

my son is 16 months old and still does the hitting and the face burying. he started when he was around 4 or 5 months and he hasn't hurt himself yet. i think its similar to us rubbing our eyes when we're exhausted. he'll grow out of it eventually.

Hi M.,

How is your little guy sleeping at night? In some cases children have problems sleeping and sometimes they bang their heads, or rock, hit themselves and other things that show they are not sleeping well.

Statistics say 1 out of 3 children have sleep disorders. I know as I was one of the children with this condition growing up. I used to bang my head on the cement as a little girl.

Sleep is the most important part of our life as we rebuild new cells everyday and support our immune system.

I now sleep on a magnetic sleepsystem and my granddaughter does also.

If you would like to learn more check out my site
www.nikken.com/ninamarie

Please let me know if I may answer any questions.

Have a blessed holiday.

N. Marie

Hi M.,
My son did the same thing for a few weeks there. I think it's a comforting thing. Sounds weird huh? Anyways, he's 10 mos. now and he grew out of it. I guess it's just a stage they go thru.

My daughter is 13 months old and does the exact same thing. She has since she was very little. Now she also bangs her head against the wall or other objects. It's very weird to me but I'm pretty sure it's normal. I've seen other little ones do the same thing.

So normal. My son used to thrust his head back against my are, and my daughter bangs her forehead against my chest. Just restless energy, they will grow out of it.

My 5 month old has been doing the same thing for months. I think it is just another sign of how tired he is. Now he has added throwing his head all the way back and then banging it on my shoulder. It does not seem to hurt him so I just let him do what he has to do to put himself to sleep.

Totally normal.

My little one (now 18 mos) used to do it to stay awake. When he was 9 mos he started banging his head on the floor when over-tired. Every now and then he would even bruise his forehead a little.

It was alarming every single time. I worried that it was some sort of developmental sign. In his case, definitely not. He is extremely bright and talkative and very coordinated.

He stopped doing it once he was able to walk. And I just learned to to make sure he got enough sleep. (see Weissbluth's book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child).

Hi M.
Congratulations on your new baby! My 10 month old daughter recently started doing this, mostly at night when I'm nursing her before bedtime. I'd be concerned but I've read (on this site) about other babies doing it, so I think it's normal. Just a way to sooth maybe?
Hope you're sleeping!
N