Any advice on how to get a 6 month old to stop pulling hair. It hurts like hell. I pull it back in ponytails and even clip it up on my head but she always finds a way to yank it out and pull. The only answer in my mind is to shave my head and thats out of the question. My hair is always a complete mess and split everywhere because of it. I think I might be bald by the time she's a toddler. She loves to yank it out while I'm changing her and holding her. Any advice or should I just go ahead and shave my head.
Have you seen the new baby prodcut called CuddleTug? This may help you if you are still having troubles with this. It is a necklace made out of ribbon that is stretchy and it has ribbon loops all aorund it for your baby to pull and tug. cuddletug.com is the web-site...good luck!
I strongly suggest you get a book TO TRAIN UP A CHILD by Michael Pearle. There are 3 more books NO GREATER JOY and in one of those he talks about that same thing, I think if you do enough research you might be able to find it on the internet that you can read the whole book.
It sound like it's time to start getting him used to the word no, pull his hand away and tell him no.
Can you put on a big fancy plastic necklace, something to distract her from your hair for awhile?
My kids used to pull at my glasses, which was problematic, not being able to see. So I had to be strict and say NO. I never ever wore hoop earring for fear they would yank a hole right through my lobe. And like you I ALWAYS wore my hair tightly up and back to keep their itsy bitsy little fingers out of it. Next they found my moles and fingered those and started pinching the thin skin under my arm. Ouch, but cute.
Just keep you hair and back and try the necklace. She's in love with you right now and wants to play with your hair. You probably have way more than she does.
let me know if you figure something out--my 9 month old is still doing it. yes, it hurts!
My daughter has done this from about 6 months also. Everything I read said that older children (age 6 or so) do this as a self soothing thing. She started doing it as she was relaxing on my shoulder as she fell asleep. It escelated as she grew and when she got her front teeth she started puttiing my hair in her mouth pulling it with her teeth. Not only did it hurt, but it broke my hair, which is already weakened from thyroid disease. I would loudly say OUCH! and put my hair back up in a ponytail.
She still plays in my hair at 2 1/2 years but is much gentler. If she hurts me she gets a 'swat' as I tell her she is hurting me and I tell her to play with her own hair. She usually just acts gentle and says "Sorry Mama", but sometimes does play with her own. She only does it at bedtime or naptime or when she doesn't feel well, but there are still times I feel like shaving my head.
Oh, we gave lots of 'loveys' trying to give her a replacement for my hair as a soother. She loves them, but doesn't use them for soothing.
My sons loved to pull my hair or my earrings. Whenever they did that, I would put them down off my lap and tell them no. I would wait 30-60 seconds and then pick them up and continue feeding or holding them. If they did it again, I once again said no and immediately removed them from my lap. They quickly figured out that if they want to be be in mommy's arms, they have to be nice to mommy. I did the same thing if they tried to scratch or bite. They have a strong desire to be held by mom so they quickly learn how to behave when mommy is so lovingly caring for them. I know it sounds harsh to kind of "punish" an infant, but they have to learn to be gentle to others and after a bloody earlobe from my oldest ripping my earring out, I had to do something. Someone (I don't remember who) told me to stop feeding my son if he bit while nursing and put him in his playpen for 30-60 seconds, then pick him up and continue feeding and it worked for that so I tried it for the hair/earrings pulling and it worked then too.
You can also try to show her to be nice to mommy's hair, stroke or brush it but never pull. Or you can give her something else to hold so her hands are too busy to pull hair. I would hate for you to not be able to enjoy holding your daughter because she hurts you and is on her way to making you bald. So although it's heartbreaking to start discipline at such a young age, a 30 second time out (where she is sitting on the floor or in her playpen) wouldn't be that bad.
Good luck and I hope you find something that works.
My daughter has done this to me since she figured out that she had hands. she is eleven months old now, and pulling even harder. She is starting to pull handfuls out. I've been using a firm NO, and pulling her hand away, I know she is starting to get it, because she stops and looks at me like a deer in headlights, for a second, then promptly goes back to yanking my hair. after 2 rounds of NO I put her down so she can't get my hair anymore. I don't know what else I can do.
