16-Mo Old Son Clenches Fists & Teeth While Trembling - Help!

Both my kids did that. It doesn't mean anything, I don't think. My 18 mo still does it, we think it's cute, actually. he's smiling when he does it............

We have a 7 month old that began this suddenly at 6 months. It progressively was getting worse. We thought it was teething. I researched all over the internet - preparing myself that we might need to go to our pediatrician to get a referral to a pediatric neurologist. I had read many who did that - and most of the results came back that there was no issue and docs saying after MANY tests (EKG, MRI, etc) that they would grow out of it. I decided to take him first to our family chiropractor to see if perhaps they had seen it! Sure enough - he had subluxation and they adjusted him (activator method). As she was touching the right side of his neck - he did it. She saw him do it - and she adjusted that area. Then she tested the left side of his neck - and he did it again. She adjusted that area. He stopped immediately and has not done it since!! Please, if you have ruled out typical medical issues - take your little one to a qualified chiropractor.

I'm not a doctor, but that sounds like a siezure. Take him to a doctor and have him thouroughly examined. I don't mean to scare you, but if they are siezures, they could be hurting him. Like I said, I'm not a doctor, but this sounds serious.

"could" be:
Teeth grinding can be caused by deficiency in vitamin b complex and calcium. And many times those issues are caused by bacteria or parasites. Both of these organisms can affect the serotonin levels in the central nervous system. check out roundworm, pinworms, among others.
see:
http://www.appliedozone.com/parasites.html

If you have animals you have an even greater chance to get parasites. Just like farm animals, humans should be dewormed ever 6 months to a year!

Maybe it's seizures??????

My 13 month old daughter has been doing this for months, and it appears to just be goofy (it makes my husband crack up).
She also comes out of it grinning and laughing. She'll do it a lot one day, then we won't see it again for weeks sometimes. I never worried about it, until everyone on here mentioned seizures... Now I'm thinking about mentioning it at her next appt. I'm still not too worried. Unless it's fairly regular, I wouldn't stress about it if I were you, and just see what the doc has to say.

My son is 15 months and just started displaying the same behavior. At first, I got scared and thought seizures. What did your Doctor say about it?

I have a 20 month old son who has been expressing himself this way since he was about 10 months old. He reacts this way when he hears sounds that may frighten him or new things in his environment that make him nervous. It doesnt sound like a seizure to me. Children have unique ways of expressing themselves and to have a child that expresses his feelings in such a way is great!
My son does not do it as much anymore but with high pitch sounds or very loud sounds he will react with a clench and a tense! :)

Honestly not sure about this and DO NOT want to cause un-necessary alarm... however... if you haven't contacted your pediatrician, it would be a very good idea. It might be nothing serious or perhaps it could be small seizures. Seizures can take on different forms- from a blank stare that lasts several seconds, to a physical behavior that sounds similar to what you are describing, to a very intense reaction that can last several seconds. A person is usually unaware of this happening to them- especially at such a young age. A older chld through adult might be aware that something happened, feel something just isn't right, and ask "what happened". Either way, talk to your child's doctor to rule this out as an answer to your concerns.

Hi J.,
I am the mom to 3 kiddo's age 8, 5, and 3. It may be nothing, but, it may be something. The problem is, most pediatricians are not well versed in some developmental issues, like anxiety in young children. Some children are born anxious, like my 8 y/o! It is nothing that us parents do, but, there are things that we can do to alleviate some of their symptoms. I would also consider some other issues, like seizures. In any event, I would go to your pediatrician and come with some specific concerns and documentation- like video of the event. I'd literally take the time to have your camera with you for a period of 24-48 hours so that you can catch a moment. Another question for you... is your son developing normally? Does he have language like Momma, Daddy, ball, etc? Is he walking? Does he point or follow your point? These are important developmental things that you should note before going into your pediatrician.
Good luck and, again, it is probably nothing but it never hurts to investigate!

Have you talked to his pediatrician about this? I have absolutely no experience with this, but it sounds like possible seizures? I hope you can figure it out!

I would suggest you visit your pediatrician ASAP. This could be a number of things, and it would best to have a professional diagnosis.

Have you talked to your pedi? He may be having some sort of a seizure. I would see the doc right away!

Hi J.

Is your son pooping regularly? What is the consistency of his poops? My 10 month old exhibited similar behavior when trying to hold her poop in. So, the behavior you describe could be your son holding his poop in....and he relaxes once the urge to poop is gone. There are a number of reasons he could be doing this....had a painful poop once and is afraid or just more awareness of his bodily functions. If he's not pooping regularly or if his poops aren't soft, talk to your pediatrician. You can try to control things through his diet.....and if that doesn't work, you can use Miralax and Benefiber to help. Feel free to send me an e-mail if you want more info or have questions.

I don't want to alarm you, but have you considered that he may be having seizures? You didn't mention if he seemed to be "out of it" when this was happening. Does he respond to you if you try to talk to him when he is doing it?
Once again, I don't want to alarm you, and I don't have any expertise in this but I guess it is just something to consider. Good luck.

Dear J., Please talk with your doctor about this.

Yes it could be psychological, but it sounds physical to me since you say it has nothing to do with what is happening. Before you see the doctor keep track of frequency and duration by charting it rather than just generalizing. But do call you pediatrician right away.

Hope it is nothing serious. Blessings on your little family and do work things out with your husband too N.

Don't forget to video him doing this several times so the Dr. can see what your talking about. It will help him diagnose the problem if there is one.
Good luck,

I don’t know what the issue is; HOWEVER, I would speak with his MD about this. Not to worry you but there could be a chance he’s having seizures.

Good Luck,
D.

My 10 month old daughter seems to be doing something very similar. We first noticed this the other day when I was feeding her some of our food. She seemed over excited or something. Then she did it again last night at dinner time as well. Both times she seemed to be over tired. Then it happened again this morning as I was changing her diaper, and again a very small one (like 1/2 a second) while watching a show, she turned to me and did it. I can't tell if it is voluntary or not. Its very concerning. She also has been teething. It will be hard to catch it on video, because there is no warning, but I am going to try. J. - have you got it diagnosed yet?

J. my son and a friends son used to do this and who knows why they did it but both are fine. Since you are worried you should bring it to your drs attention. Probably just an attention getter but talk to the dr to ease your mind.

I would take him to the dr. it sounds like it could be a seizure.
Good luck
J.

Have you spoken to his doctor about this, maybe even video it happening and bring it in... just to make sure he isn't having seizures

Hi J., I don't want to frighten you at all, but your son might be having mini seizures. You should definitely bring this up to your pediatrician and see if they can monitor it. Often little ones do go through episodes that resemble seizures, but can also be them growing into their nervous systems. However, you do want to rule out anything serious. Last year, my son had a seizure at night (rolandic epilepsy). It was the first time his father and I witnessed such an episode, and it was really scary... but when my little guy came out of it, he announced to us "Oh, I have had those before." We were totally unaware he was having these at night. We took him into to Children's and they did an EKG to watch his brain waves and definitively told us he had this form of epilepsy. So really let your pediatrician know about your concerns because if he is having these during waking hours, it might be an even greater concern...and you as a parent need to know what is going on and/or rule out any worrisome possibilities for that matter. Good luck and let us know how that goes.

Hi i am gail A. i am a 42 year old mother to son and daughter.
My eldest lance who is now 23, had a very bad accident with me when he was 3. We got knocked down by an ambulance.it was so bad they caled all our family as we would not make it to the next day but as miracles go we did. To cut a long story short. Lance developed epilepsy from his brain damage.
He had gran mal at 1st.which is when all the body goes rigid and is scary having to take medication, with time it came to petit mal which sounds to me what your son has. He would be the same and blank out, if i was talking to him all off a sudden, he was gone and could not remember a word i said. Do not want to alarm you but i would mention it to your doctor at next check up. I hope it is nothing.

Take care.

I would suggest you bring this up to his pediatrician's attention. I do not know many details about his behavior and I am no doctor, but any time my son has had any episode of shivers or what seems to be odd uncontrolled movements, doctors bring up seizures. I know it is a horrible thought, but we as the parents of these children need to be aware of all possibilities and at least rule out anything that could potentially be of concern. You will feel a lot better when the doctor assesses your son and you get answers. Good luck.

My advise is . . . when something doesn't seem right, call the doc. I'd rather be foolish than ignore something that could be a real problem.

I would call the ped. If he is having seizures 3-4x a day, that's a lot of seizures in a day.

Call the dr.
S

What is happening when he does this? Is he playing quietly? Wanting something? Angry? If he is just teething then you might want to give him something to chew on to help relieve the pain. I have put Goguhrts in the freezer. This helps with the pain and also lets them have something good to snack on.

If it is when he is mad then you may have an interesting go. =) Be willing to put him in timeout, hold him on your lap and help him to relax. Find something to distract him. I would also ask you please to consider arguing with your husband out of earshot, it isn't always easy but it definitely is better for his well-being.

Does he have any other "tics"? For example, does he shake his hand for no reason? Is there a history of Terretes in your family? It may be something you will want to address with your pediatrician.

I hope that helps! Trust your gut!

First of all, try not to freak out. Even if it is epilepsy, it sounds like only partial seizures (a type not severity). (And you didn't cause it by arguing in front of him!!) I used to work in epilepsy research, and many people have partial seizures with very unique movements, smells,sights, or "trances" that go with them. They are often very subtle. One patient used to see a "thumb" in her mind and then her left arm would move. Another would hear a whistle and then say random words. Another would just stare and "check out" for a minute. A partial seizure can manifest in a number of ways. Since this does not sound like it is related to what is going on in the environment (a response to frustration), it sounds like it may be epilepsy. Keep in mind though that sometimes children "grow out of childhood epilepsy" and it does not mean he will need to be medicated or have the symptoms as an adult. If it is seizures, first of all realize that it is most likely not causing any harm and you can't stop it, so don't do anything drastic (or potential harmful) while it is happening until you talk to a doctor. Its best to leave them alone, make sure there is nothing nearby that can hurt them, and remove anything from their hands that could spill or hurt, and then wait.
Maybe its not seizures or epilepsy, maybe its behavioral, but you do need to see a pediatric neurologist to find out. But do not blame yourself or worry too much in the meantime, its probably not that serious. These things are more common than we think in kids.

I haven't heard of this? Frustration with a toy??

Hi J.,

I don't want to alarm you, I'm sure other reponders have already suggested it, but this sounds like petit mal epilepsy. I would take him to a neurologist right away. Best of luck.

please mention this to your Doctor i would call her/him today It could be a medical conditon

This is something you should talk to your pediatrician about. The facts that these episodes seem unprovoked, occur regularly multiple times a day and have been for several months suggest that there may be a neurologic component. These sound like "absence" seizures. It doesn't hurt to get a baseline from your doctor and decide whether further evaluation is necesary.

Please see a physician immediately. It could be a variety of things.

I would call the doctor, this does sound like seizures to me! Now this could be related to teething, but do check!