Head Banging? - Dallas,TX

my son did the same thing when he was frustrated. typically it was when he was trying to do something he lacked the coordination to do or he was overtired. my pedi told me to not make a big deal out of it. if he was tired, i put him down for a nap. if he was frustrated, i redirected him to another task. the head-banging stopped after about 3 weeks. good luck!
M.

My daughter is a head banger! I never thought I'd be typing that ; )
She is 3.5 and she bangs her head when she's tired or getting ready to go to sleep. I was told by my ped that it's completely normal and that she can't hurt herself from doing this. He said that children under 3 don't generate enough force to cause brain damage or neurologic problems
He also told us that studies have found head-bangers to be measurably advanced compared to their peers. Most websites I've read support that too. They actually say it's a sign of increased intelligence.
My daughter started doing this at about 12 months. We too were very concerned about this! It's an unusual habit and it's 3 to 4 times more likely for a boy to do it. If you're worried about Autism or Sensory issues I think they told me they can test for that around 13 months? Good luck and let us know what the ped says.

S.

One thing I have not seen mentioned here - this can also be a sign that your child has an ear infection - my dd would hit her head like this because there was fluid in her ears - it made it move around (becoming either more or less comfortable). I can't tell you the number of times I took her to the dr with no outward sign (fever or pulling on ears) of an ear problem only to find out that she had fluid in her ears.

Hi B.,
PLEASE read about Craniosacral therapy. You can look it up on www.upledgerinstitute.com My son head banged too and the only thing that stopped it was craniosacral therapy. You can do this at Integrative Pediatric therapy in Dallas or Plano. My son turned out to have autism and have sensory issues. Head banging can be a sensory release but should ALWAYS be looked into before he/she can hurt themselves or before it gets to be a habit. I am so happy I didn't listen to anyone and took the initiative to have him looked at. The docs never tell you to do anything except wait! If you want more info email me anytime. ____@____.com
L.

My son did this from about 5 months up until he could start walking. I think it was just the frustration of not being able to get to where he wanted. We just ignored it. Once he started walking, he'd sometimes bang his head (lightly) on something and then start crying (fake cry).. just to get our attention. We were sure to ignore this too... and it stopped after a few failed attempts.

Good Luck!

My ds would do the same around that age but doesn't do it any longer. I think it was just something to do every once in a while. You say he doesn't do it continually or repeatedly so I don't think it should cause you too much concern. I think it's just a phase but, of course, you'll want to double check with your ped.

Hi B., my name is M. Cassels. I am a mother of a 2-year old & have worked with children for years. I distinctly remember one child I worked with in a daycare facility. He would have fits where he threw himself on the ground and literally hit his head until he had a welt. It did not happen often, but it was disturbing to say the least. My first instinct was to ignore him assuming he was just trying to get attention & hope he would stop in the absense of that attention. However, that did not solve the problem. I found the best solution was to calmly explain once that hurting ourselves is not okay, hug him, then redirect him to another activity. Hope that helps!

My son used to do this around the same age. Unfortunately for him, it started right about the time he got out of his doc-band. One of the side "benefits" of band treatment is that it protects your kid's H. from bumps. However, when the band comes off, they get an ugly wakeup call!

Anyway, I think he did it mainly because he wanted to hear what noise he could make. Banging his H. against the wall sounds different from banging his H. against the cabinet doors. And, banging his H. against the cabinet doors sounds different from banging his H. against his bedroom door.

It's just them figuring out the world around them and how their bodies fit within that world. Like one Mom posted, once they start walking, that'll distract them from wanting to do a lot of other things!

My daughter use to do this too. My doctor told me it was normal, that she liked the rythmic motion. I thought it was strange, but he said as long as she wasn't hurting herself she was fine. We let her do it, and eventually she stopped.