6 Mo. Old Shaking Her Head

Yup, my little boy started shaking his head around 6 or 7 months (he's 10 months now) and he just loves the reaction it gets! Now he uses it correctly, no for something he doesn't want to do, no if I offer him food that he doesn't want, he shakes his head no all the time. But in the beginning he was just picking up something he'd seen me do, and doing it because it was fun. It takes a lot longer to learn to nod, and shaking a head no is more fun for a kid anyway. My doctor said that they just enjoy doing a "grown up" thing, and they like to communicate with you once they understand what it means. If she shakes her head no when you offer her something, treat the head shake like she's really telling you no and she'll quickly learn what the head movement means.

Hi S.,

Your daughter is working on using her vestibular system. This is the part of her brain that helps with balance- it is one of the reasons why babies love to be rocked and bounced a lot. It will help her with crawling and walking as the brain connections are made from one side of the brain to the other, across the corpus collusom. It is perfectly normal for her to do this and you can also use it to reinforce her language development, as it does look like she is saying no.

BTW, I have a Master's degree in child brain development 0-3 years, so I do know what I am talking about. Have fun with her, rock her and bounce her and enjoy this time- it goes very quickly!

Good Luck!
C.

S.,

Congratulations! Your daughter is learning a cause and effect. I don't mean to belittle your concerns at all, but 6 months is about the time that babies start learning that they have fingers and toes, and that these digits can *do* things. I wouldn't worry too much just yet.

If you think its more than just a developmental thing, maybe video tape your daughter doing this, and take it in to your doctor. Either wait for the next well baby (10 months usually), or call and make an appointment. Follow your gut instinct, that is the best parenting tool you have.

Hope this helps,
Melissa

Hi S.,
I think the previous expert responses will ease your concern, but just wanted you to know I felt the same way when my little girl started doing this. Cute at first, then you wonder if it's some sort of autistic behavior developing. But I think they are just playing with their new "skill" and she is perfectly fine now, and does use if to mean "no".

This might sound kind of funny but pay attention to what you are doing. Is she seeing you shake your head this way? Possibly while play a game with her or something? The reason I ask is that when my son was little he stayed with my mom for a couple of days. Whenever she would talk to him she would tilt her head sideways to look at him and talk baby talk to him. When he came home he kept tilting his head sideways and we were baffled why he was doing that. We were all worried until it occurred to us that he was copying her. If you are worried maybe have your doctor look at her just to be sure.

One of my sons did it too when he was about that age. I think it was just a new discovery and maybe he liked the dizzy feeling he got from doing it. He used to laugh or maybe we laughed wondering what he was doing and he realized he got attention for it. He is now almost 4 years and perfectly fine.

It's self stimulation - she's doing it because it feels neat. Most children self stim in some way or another, like spinning in circles until you fall down or something similar. I honestly wouldn't worry about it for now, not unless it becomes painfully exaggerated or she begins hitting her head against things.

My little girl does it too. She is 11 months old now. I called the doctor and was told that she just figured out how to shake her head so she is practicing.

It has been a couple of months and she still does it, but now it seams to mean "no" most of the time. She was doing it at daycare when someone came in the room she didn't want in there.

She also does it when she dances. It is really cute and fun. She shakes her head and waves her arms when a song she likes starts to play. She also nods yes now, but only with prompting.

i can add another one too the list of babies doing it, so thanks for asking this question- my almost 8 mos old does it too and started about 6 1/2 mos. he also does it when he's fighting sleep- maybe stimulation? i didn't have any idea why so i was glad to read all the responses.

My son (8.5 mos) has been shaking his head like this too since he was 6 months old. We also asked our ped about it and she said it was just part of the learning process. They've learned they can move their head and they think it's fun to do. He now will flap his arms and kick his feet while shaking his head at the same time and making high pitch noises. It's actually pretty entertaining. :-)

I would have her checked more. I have a friend who's son has a condition with his eyes. His eyes go from side-to-side and as a result, he compensates visually by shaking his head back and forth. You never know what it could be. I would have a neurologist check her.

Our son came home from daycare doing the same thing. I think he was just experimenting with his new motor skills because at first it was happening a lot and now it only happens occasionally. Mostly when he's laying on his back on the floor. I didn't see much wrong with him or his development otherwise, and it didn't seem to be bothering him, so I just chalked it up to figuring out how things worked for him and if it looked different if I now do this type of a thing. We just try to verbally suggest 'yes' and nod our heads to show him that there are other head movements that mean something as well. But, since he's a year old, it doesn't make much sense to him at this point, so we all get a good chuckle out of it. Hope this helps!

L.

You MUST seek the advice of a Neurologist. A child repeatedly and often shaking their head in what seems to be a "No No No" pattern can be a sign of small seizures. This is commonly known as Infantile Spasms or "West Syndrome" It is often characterized by a repeated shaking usually followed by a stiffening of the body.

Your baby's movements do not sound classic because she is moving her head from side to side. However, I have heard of many different variations and thought I would describe them to you: Infantile spasms come in a series usually and they often make the baby upset, or cause a happy baby to become an irritable one. They usually cause the baby to flex their head forward or back, often with arm movements. They often happen when they are tired or upon waking (as do many seizures types). Infantile spasms are very serious and left untreated can cause brain damage.

I don't mean to alarm you, and I hope this is not what she is experiencing. I just thought because of the seriousness of infantile spasms I would let you know about them so that you can get help immediately if you think this is what she might have.

Anyway, it's worth asking if any of this behavior fits the description. Good luck!