Hitting Head

My son did this also. I still don't know why. It did pass. I would just put my hand in back of head and redirect him to something else.

Hi D.,

I used to do that as a child and have met many children that did that also. I found everyone of us had sleep deprevation. We used to toss and turn and were frustrated as little children not knowing that was a problem.

Experts say 1 out of 3 children have sleep deprevation.

I found a solution as I got older and do not have that problem of tossing and turning.

If you are interested in learning more email me and I will share my solution.

Good luck.

N. Marie

It's a soothing behavior and very common. It has nothing to do with your parenting or him seeking attention. Our son did it for a while around that age. If you go to BabyCenter.com, you should be able to find some articles on it (try "head banging").

Don't worry about it at all. It's a phase that will pass.

I have seen kids that bang their heads come into my work. Although it is alarming it happens in about 20% of toddlers, especially boys. Your son sounds like he is healthy, and doesn't show signs of autistic behavior. They grow out of it. Have you had your sons ears checked? Sometimes kids bang their heads when they get ear infections. In older kids after age of 4 or so, it becomes a cause for worry. I don't think this is the case, but I have also seen older children with head banging have intestinal worms. I am a homeopath, and in those cases I have treated them successfully with remedies. Personally, I think your son will grow out of it, so not to worry. It sounds as if you are doing everything you can. Good job!

It's horrible to see! I know because my son did the same thing as a baby. We would get so scared & nervous and stop him from doing it. We didn't know what to do, then we told his dr. about it and she said not to stop, just completely ignore him. That sounded crazy to me because I thought he would seriously hurt himself. We did ignore him and it took a lil time, but he stopped. Try sticking with ignoring the behavior, not even acknowledge it. He may still be in the process of realizing it's not working. Good luck with it.

Hi,
I know it sounds odd BUT lots of boys do this. Talk to the doctor to confirm it but several of my frineds over the years had boys who did this. Neither of my boys did but I'm a grandma now & over the years have seen it a bunch of times. I have also responded to other mom's here with the same request. I don't know why they do it, but it's not uncommon....
Good Luck, but to ease your mind I don't think anything is wrong.....L.
p.s....I just read some of the other posts here, and some are very alarming. As with anything you are not sure of, TALK TO THE DOCTOR, but honestly I don't think there is any cause for alarm....One comment said something about ADD? Now, both of my son's have some form...one ADD, one ADHD (they are allgrown up now)& like I said neither of my son's EVER did this. My best friends son did, now his son does it too! AGAIN, if your are not sure & worried that the child may hurt himself then TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR!But no need to rush off to the emergency room(like my daughter in law would do)..LOl sorry, I probably shouldnt have said that...oopps

This is totally normal. We started giving our daughter an empty soda bottle to use so that at least she wouldn't hurt herself. She pretty much stopped after about 6 months of this behavior.

I had a similar situation this past sunday with a little boy from our church. He thru himself down in the nursery, kicking & screaming & banging his head on the floor. He did this for about a good 7-10 minutes. I watched him carefuly to make sure he did not go into any seizures but after a while, i finaly went to him & said "are you through?" he stopped. I saw his mom last night & asked how he was & she said fine. This little guy has a temper tantrum & he throws it well. Ha! Ha! Enjoy your son. Most important when he is in this mode, to stand away & watch him. Your not alone with little child tantrums.

Blessings

My son used to do this, too. He also would hug sooo hard -- by the time he was 3, I had him assessed because he also would hurt other kids (without being mean -- he just was too rough). He was diagnosed with sensory integration disorder. It's when you don't feel your body the way others do -- you need strong touch/sensation in order to know where you are in space. He's done a lot of occupational therapy and movement therapy since then and is now almost 8 and is much better, although it's still sometimes an issue....Dr. Susan Johnson in Fair Oaks California is a pediatrician who is an expert in this......It may not be your son's case, but it's something to keep in mind.

I think you have nothing to worry about. My son used to do this as well and he eventually just grew out of it (it lasted a while though). One time he was mad and so he banged his head on the cement outside! That didn't work so he bent over and hit it again HARD! He left a scrape on his forehead and a lump! He of course then cried from pain so I comforted him and just told him he shouldn't do that cause it hurts him. Seriously I think your son is perfectly normal. I have heard other moms w the same story. My son is now 4, perfectly healthy and NEVER intentionally hurts himself anymore. Just ignore it and be patient (and maybe keep him away from cement). :). Good luck!

Have you talked to your pediatrician about this? Perhaps your son may have what is called "Sensory integration" or "sensory processing" issues, where he is either over-sensitive or under-sensitive to different sorts of sensory input (Carol Stock Kranowitz's book "The Out of Sync Child" is a good resource about this, your local library probably carries it)

Our son did exactly the same thing starting when he was about 16 months old (he is now 22 months) to the point of having a large bump and bruise on the front of his forehead for 2 months! We did exactly as you are doing (ignored the behavior and walked away after making sure he was in a relatively safe environment) and he realized (after about 6 weeks) that he wasn't getting much out of it and completely stopped. We consulted with his pediatrician and a child development specialist at the time and they said basically to wait it out. Our biggest challenge was keeping his daycare from making a fuss over him every time he did it. Luckily, you don't have that angle to contend with. Good luck and try not to worry too much. It WILL pass...

Hi D.,

Have you had his ears checked? While I do think you could be right about the attention. There may be something going on that he can't express. I would also lovingly stop him when he does it and ask him if he has a boo boo. How wonderful of you to be home with your son. You have such an opportunity to create a loving capable being. Children also know what kind of attention they need and when. If it seems like he does this when you become busy with something other then him then let him know you see him and love him then go back to what you were doing. I am a mother of five, childcare owner/opperator and parenting counsultant in the East Bay. I am offering 10 free consultations this month to honor my daughter's graduation from high school. Let me know if I can be of any futher help. And your love for your son is your greatest power.

Please don't ignore it. Although a lot of toddlers do what is called "head banging" you should seek first the advice of a pediatrician. Then if he is actually hitting his head with his hands and a toy, he may be showing signs of severe frustration or have a physical/biological problem. This should be checked by a child psychologist. I would not let it go. Kids do things sometimes out of frustration but you want to get to what is underlying be it physical/biological or psychological. A child hitting his head can harm his brain just as if another person was doing it. If you would not let someone else do it to him , then don't let him do it to himself. Don't be afraid or think it is nothing, just seek professional advice that is what they are there for.You are his advocate. You are responsible for helping him to take care of himself. He doesn't know he can harm himself. Protect your baby. I am a mom of 4 and my daughter did toddler head banging but my son started hitting his head at times of frustration. Also as he grows watch for attention and followthrough problems. Some signs of ADD. It has to do with blood flow to the prefrontal cortex of the brain.