Help, I have a 20 month old toddler who has been lately head banging the floor or hitting his head with his hand when he is mad. I know its because he cannot speak very well yet and he's trying to tell us something and gets frustrated, but what should we do in the meantime when he does this? Should I go buy him a helmet????
Thanks everybody for the wonderful advice, this situation is almost resolved believe it or not. It probably was a phase as someone mentioned, he is NOT a challenged child as someone else mentioned. As MANY of you responded and his PHYSICIAN this is NORMAL behavior out of pure frustration as I mentioned with my question. He cannot talk well and he's frustrated about not being able to tell us what he wants. Paying attention to he's needs and ignoring him when he does this is a fine line and not as easy as some people mentioned. However, with that it mind, that is exactly what you are suppose to do.
I have a little guy who started doing this a few months ago, thankfully, it has slowed down, but we pretty much just ignore it, and it stops. He now has started clasping his hands over his head instead of the head banging (which he only did when he got really mad at us or at the situation).
Good luck!
My little sister did this. When ever she would get frustrated she would bang her head on the wall, the floor or even someone elses head. She eventually grew out of it, and is a smart active 12 year old, so I'm sure no permanant damage. I would suggest that you teach your son sign language. He can operate his hands better than his tounge and jaw right now. There are some simple signs that are easy for both of you to learn and can really help to improve communication. You should be able to pick up a book at any bookstore, and I beleive there are also videos out there. If you have a deaf or blind school in your area, call them, they always offer classes. You dont need to know alot of signs just the basics could help. Good luck!
My son did this as well around the same age. It was just a stage and he did grow out of it. It's frustrating as a parent to watch it, and of course you don't want your child hurt. But, we just let him get it out of his system, and intervene if he took it out of control. That little stage only lasted a few months and he has never done it since.
I work with people that are challanged. Yes, get a helmet. It's better than the damage that can be done. We have a young fellow that will hit his head on the corner of walls. We threaten to put his helmet on and he stops. Once you start using the helmet, I hope things will calm down.
your asking should i get a helmet, really made me laugh!! my son used to hit himself in the head really hard when he was about 1 1.5. at a doctors appointment i brought it up and asked if i should get him a helmet to protect him. his doctor was shocked and laughed alot.
They usually grow out of such things, and i think they do it for attention.
we did the baby signing with both our kids and neither of them really throw tantrums so to speak. We didn't get totally into it, just the basics -- basic needs plus if there was something they seemed really tuned into.
If he's just doing it for attention, then unless he's hurting himself, I'd probably just ignore it and he'll learn that sometimes mom has things she needs to do too. If he's hurting himself ask your doctor.
We also got the disney toddler games. Where they just move the mouse over the shapes and stuff and my son loved it. we've moved onto the preschool version and he's doing great with working a mouse now. He would only do the toddler thing for about 15-20 minutes by himself, but hey, that enough time to put laundry away.
One of my sons also banged his head and we finally linked it to the stress level in our home. I noticed that whenever the level of stress went up in the home that his head banging got worse. Once we removed that stress the head banging went away. He is 8 now and doesn't head bang but rocks in his bed. He uses it as a way to relax and reduce his stress levels. You can always tell when he has had a rough day at school or when something is bothering him. In response to someone mentioning learning sign language and finding someplace that holds classes, you can check out the website www.nebraskamrp.com
They offer classes twice a year that run 6 to 8 weeks, and in two different locations here in the metro. One is in Ralston and the other is by UNO off of 55th St. The cost is only $10
Boys Town National Research Hospital used to offer classes as well, I am not sure if they still do. You can contact them in the new Lied Learning and Technology Center. Good luck with whatever works with your little guy.
Do you think that this might be your childs way of getting ur attention? if not then is your child hurting himself. If he is u can always try holding him until the fit is over. thats what i had to to do with my boy when he was that young... it worked really well to.... good luck sorry i cant give anymore advice...
I have a nephew who does the same thing, my sister said all of her kids do it. there is nothing really you can do about it, other than make sure he is safe where he is when he starts to bang his head. Poor baby, he even bangs his head on the wall..He's just being a kid. good lucka and i hope this helps.
chris
Hi D.,
Boy, can I relate to this one. Our son was a head banger too when he was younger. He got through it without the need of a helmet, but I admit we did think about it. I agree with you that he does it because he is frustrated. Our son just seems to have trouble handling frustration even now at 10 yrs. He did grow out of the head banging, so just be patient and make sure you cover all the hard floor surfaces with carpeting until he outgrows it.
My son did the same thing when he was little. But he grew out of it (head banging phase). Just try to keep an eye on him when he's doing it. To make sure he doesn't hurt his head on like a corner or something like that. I know it might be hard to wait for him to grow out of the head banging phase. IF you have any concerns talk to the doctor.
HI D.,
I have this same problem with my son, age 6. He has been doing this (head banging) since he was a toddler. However, I think most of the time he realizes it hurts more and hasn't been doing it unless he is really upset. My son is developmently delayed by about 3 years and still has trouble speaking so he usually head bangs when he is totally upset and frustrated and doesn't know how to deal with the situation at hand. The only thing that works for me is, to try to calm him down either holding him or getting down at his level and speaking to him to try to solve the issue. It seems most of the time it was something I said or asked him to do that he didn't like.
I hope this helps somewhat. Good luck. Let me know if you want to talk live.
L.
Hi! I used to do childcare when my kids were preschool age and I had a little boy who did the same thing. He would get frustrated because he couldn't communicate what he wanted fast enough or when he was mad. At first I was like, "No!" And I would pick him up and try and comfort him. He wouldn't have it!! He would then try and bite me!! So I found that if I just let him act out his frustrations the way he wanted to, he would stop banging his head when it hurt. I would just walk away. I cleared this with his parents first of course!! Once again, I found that with the lack of an audience or a reaction from me, he would bang his head less and less.
Worked for me!! Good Luck!!
M
