Seeking Advice on 14 Month Old Son Who Rocks & Bangs His Head

When my husband was a baby he did the samething, except more extreme. He would bang his head on his crib so hard to wear the crib would bounce against the wall, when he could not soothe himself by banging his head he would rub his hand (palm down) back and forth against his sheet. My mother in law says that he was a very independent baby who did not like a lot of cauddling. As an adult he has to take a low dose of medicine to help sleep at night, he is an insomnic if he does not, and at 35 without his night meds he will still bang his head against his pillow or shake his leg to help go to sleep. He is a great person though who does not suffer from any social or mental defects, simply struggles with insomnia.

Hi A.-

Yes, there are those of us who have rocked ourselves to sleep throughout the years. I am one of those people. Apparently, I too, started when I was very little, as my mother would tell me she would find me in my crib all the way down the hall because I had rocked through the night!You won't believe this, but I eventually gave it up just prior to going to college! Wow, I bet I really worried my mom. The rocking motion did(does) help me to become sleepy at night when I am anxious or have a stomach or back ache. Yes, I have found I can revert back and rock at night maybe once every few years for one evening (usually lasts a few minutes). And yes, I am married and I don't think my husband has ever had to deal with it. I have found if I do rock in bed, I usually don't feel well, so I turning in earlier than he is. It has just never been an issue. Mother said I did wear out a few baby cribs though!!!!
I will let you know, be prepared, as I do find that I sit and rock back and forth a lot at the kitchen table while reading the newspaper or watching T.V. or listening to music. Again, I think it is tied up with keeping my stomach "quiet", although, as I am doing it right now, it also just seems to relieve stress. I do have stomach issues (nausea, generally icky), but I have also been having stomach issues this evening. As a child, as a passenger in the car, I also rocked quite a bit (almost from the moment I got in the car); still do as a passenger to some degree, as an adult. It helped when I started to drive.

I haven't found any long term side effects and I think I would have noticed by now. Just be aware that this may crop up as he gets older when he is just sitting around at the table or in the car. I think if I hadn't rocked all the years we traveled in the car, I would have been a lot more car sick! It definitely helped me there.

Good luck!

K

Hi. My daughter who is now 14 months started doing this around 1 year old. I asked the Doctor about it, and she said that it is a way they soothe theirself. I too was concerned, she does still rock back and forth once in a while, but the doctor said her knefew did it also. So it looks like it is common.

Tammy.

Hello,

My son has done this since he was a tiny baby. In fact, he couldn't share a room with anyone because his rocking/pounding would be quite vigorous. He would pound his head up and down on the mattress, or his fist, or his legs. I finally made him a padded pit, partially for safety, but also so he could share a room with someone. He still pounded, but it wasn't as disruptive to his siblings.

He's now 11, and I can tell when he's starting to get tired by the fact that his leg (or some other body part) will start moving. He falls asleep extremely easily, and I think his pounding is part of the reason why. It's a terrific self-soothing mechanism.

I just want to assure you that my son is normal in every way - he's athletic, intelligent, and socially well-adjusted. He just likes to "go bump in the night."

My daughter started banging her head when she was 11 months old after being sick. This was her way of soothing herself and was the only way she could put herself to sleep. We tried rocking her until she fell asleep but she immediately got up in the crib and banged her head anyway. She did it standing up and hit her head on the rail of the crib. We had to pad her crib completely with rubber foam. We moved her to a big bed (away from a wall) when she was a little over two... and what she did instead was to kick her foot then. She did that for many years but otherwise there were no problems.

Hi A.,

It sounds to me he is not getting good sleep. I used to be like that growing up and I used to toss and turn until 10 years ago.

I am going to be 50 this year. Statistics share that 1 out of 3 children have sleep deprevation.

That is one of the reasons why the children are so hyper.

I sleep on a magnetic pad with a far infrared blanket to adapt to my body temperature. My whole family sleeps on this technology and it is amazing how you feel in the morning.

My grand daughter loves it she has been on it since she was 2 days old.

If you would like more info let me know and I will share more.

Have a great day.

N. Marie

Hi A.,

He is FINE. He has just found something that works and doesn't want to let it go. Just make sure that the corners are sufficiently padded so he doesn't hurt himself. If you used to rock him to sleep, that is probably what he is recreating.

T.

Hi, A.,
My mom said I used to rock myself to sleep while singing. For years I would sit against the headboard of the crib or bed and sing to sleep. I even taught my younger sister to do so!

I don't have any developmental delays. Instead, I am very musical and played in the marching band in both high school and college.

Maybe your child is just getting ready to be in marching band! Don't worry!

H.

I would listen to your gut and get a second opinion from another doctor or even a pediatric neurologist. He/She can ask you more questions about your son's other behaviors to rule out any problems. You will continue to worry until you do! If it is nothing, then you know for sure. If it is something that requires intervention, you've caught it early.

Be persistent! You know what is best for your child. Some doctors are not up to date on the latest research and you deserve a doctor who will look into this for you and give you more information.

I really don't see how the rocking will make your child socially inept or lead to any long-term effects. It may look a bit odd but it's self-soothing. Somewhere along the lines, he found what comforts him & self-soothes which is great. Would you rather have him waking up 3x/night needing help to get back to sleep? He may ourgrow it, or like the previous mom said, use it as a soothing mechanism throughout his life. Either way, I say don't worry about it.

Hi A., I don't know if this will help but since this is familiar I thought I'd give you the info I know. My brother started rocking like that when he was young as well. He still does it as an adult sometimes. He says it's just comforting to him. My brother was diagnosed with add when he was a teen, which was an overdue diagnosis. The family always knew he was a little different than the rest of us. My brother is completely self reliant as an adult, is married and has a child. I'm definetly not saying your son has anything like this but I thought I would give you this insight.

Greetings A.: I have a child that at 22 still rocks whilee he is standing and just talking. It took us YEARS to get it discovered as to why. Then it turned out that several of the cousins all do a simular thing.
My son has Aspberger's Syndrome, is dyslexic, and has mild ADD. One of the symptoms of Asperger's is to rock. It really does not harm anything but can make you a little seasick watching it. If he is reminded nicely that he needs to stop rocking he can(for short periods of time).
So if it keeps up for a longer period of time consider having it checked out by a different doctor and see what else could be going on. Our son is a great guy and does well in all situations so the rocking does not effect all things. Take care and enjoy the adventure of parenthood, Nana G.

Hello, A. K--
This is the first time I heard of a baby "rocking" himself to sleep, with occasional moaning. I am concerned. Maybe, getting a second opinion from a neurologist, for example, may confirm that there is nothing wrong with your son, or otherwise. The earlier a condition is detected, the better chance of it not becoming a permanent health condition for him. But I would be suspicious that he feels odd to resort to doing that. Maybe, take a video of him doing it to show to the specialist.
I hope you will find out for sure what is happening to him.
E. C