Mom Advice - Carson,CA

Sarah is correct. This is a symptom of an anxiety disorder and/or obsessive compulsive disorder. I know. I had a similar problem as a child. Get the child assessed by the pediatrician and the psychologist. Medication and/or behavior modification are probably needed. A lot of this type of disorder is hereditary, so if you or his father have family members have similar symptoms of nail biting, hair pulling, compulsive behavior, depression, etc, then you will need to be prepared for this to be a lifelong thing that need not be bothersome. It's kind of like an allergy that can be treated by medication and avoidance of the problem (like cats). My brother and I both still as adults have the occasional relapse of anxiety, but we know how to control it. A child doesn't and that is when parents need to step in. A buzz cut is a short term solution but might be displaced by another, like chewing pencils, nails, pulling out the eyelashes, etc. Get the assessment and then get an action plan. Good luck.

If you need and oral facial help call me. I help children and adults with oral habits, muscle dysfunction, tongue thrust and many other habits such as twirling hair. It usually works within the first appt, though it is good to have a few appts. Melindasoralfacial.com

This is a stress symptom.
I did this for many years.
I hope you won't give him a buzz cut.
Consider some family counseling, if possible.
Good luck!
S.

We had an acquaintance whose daughter did that as well. I think she was around 2 years old. They shaved her head and she stopped. Hopefully, this is a phase. Talk to his teachers and see if he is being bullied or experiencing a tough time with other kids and/or school work. Work with the teachers to come up with a way they can help him if they see him pulling at his hair. Does the bald spot and the doing it bother your son? Communicate with him - it might be a good start to finding a solution. Good luck!
If he doesn't mind - buzz him. I would.

All great feedback!. There is a lot of knowledge here. am grateful to be a part of it. I agree, cutting his hair won't solve the problem but it may buy you a bit of time to seek the help necessary. He will most likely find another outlet for his anxiety/nervousness/habit/ whatever the reason for the twirling, but it most likely will not be immediate. If you have read any of my other posts, I am a firm believer that medical doctors do not have the answers to these types of situations. Education not medication and doctors have only been educated on medication.

Seek professional help, professional natural help. Your son is 10, he is old enough to have a conversation with.

When I was teacher in in South Pasadena I had an 11 year old boy who did just the same. I spoke to his parents who immediately shaved his head. This did not solve the problem but it did buy us the time to talk to him, find out what was going on and try some alternatives. For months we tried many different approaches. In the end what worked for him was always having something in his hand/pocket that he could twirl (his pen, a string etc). To "retrain" him, we set a small desk timer that rang every 5 mins at first. It reminded him to think about where his hands were and what he was doing. After a couple of weeks, the timer moved to 10 mins, then 20 etc. It was along process, but for him it worked.

B.
Family Success Coach

I do no know what will work for your son but I do know something will. I do wish you all the best.

not to alarm you but its a phycological disorder. my friends 2 year old does the same thing. its like a stress and nervous thing most kids dont even realize they do it

Like fingernail biting, it can be a comfort thing, a nervousness thing, an anxiety thing, or a stress thing.

Try asking him or talking about it.
Or take him to the Doctor to seek any suggestions... or possible causes.

Hi there,
I think your idea of giving him a buzz cut is a good place to start. The bigger issue, however, is to find out why he is doing this. I would ask his teacher(s) to watch and see if it's during any specific time (that's consistent), like during test-taking or something. If you do see it at home, does it happen during a specific (again looking for consistency) time? This sounds like a nervous habit of some sort. When did it start? How long has it been going on? All of these answers may help you to find the root of the problem. The reason to look for the root? If you buzz his hair, but don't address the underlying problem, he will inevitably find another way to express his anxiety. It's like putting a bandaid on a bruise without figuring out how the bruise got there in the first place.
Hope this helps...I've been working with families and kids for close to 20 years, now....I've seen a lot.=0)
L.

This is called trichotillomania and it's sort of like an anxiety disorder. I wouldn't make a huge deal of it in front of your son but I would def. bring it up to your pediatrician and get him evaluated by a child psychologist. It's best to nip it in the bud now. My friend had this growing up and she is a wonderful, well developed individual so don't worry. But I do think it needs to be addressed.

I actually did this when I was about your son's age. I had long hair and I pulled each strand out and gave myself a bald spot on the top of my head, about the size of a quarter. My mom took me to get a hair cut, a shorter shag type, and I never did it again. It looked funny coming back in though, like a little sprouted garden. LOL!

No, I don't have any issues of pulling my hair out. Maybe the only way I could explain it now, as a mom, is it was just one of the wacky, thankfully brief, phases kids 'sometimes' go through.

Obviously, if he continues, perhaps seek medical attention.

haircut won't help. at the best he'll find something else to pick or pull at the worst he will internalize it, leading to deeper problems. don't see much hope in conventional medicine, unless you invest in hours or "talk" therapy,instead of giving the pill. even then it will be like pushing same issue around the body. there are homeopaths out there who specialize in behavioral issues. may want to look into that.
Good Luck
V.

Twirling and pulling hair out is called trichotillomania. You should bring him to the dr. to rule out physical causes as well as anxiety causing this. I don't think that you calling attention to him doing it will help him stop. In fact, it may make it worse. I think maybe subconsciously he is anxious about something and not able to express his feelings.

Hope this improves soon.

This may be a form of anxiety. I would start w/ the school --- ask them to see if he could talk to a counselor. Or if you have insurance, make an appointment w/ a child psychologist to help you figure out why this is happening and how to stop it. I know some people w/ psychiatric disorders who have made themselves bald doing it.

Buzzing his head will make the bald spot stand out for a bit unless you shave the whole thing, even then he may still try to pull on it.

I would go with really short hair to break the habit...2 weeks on not being able to will stop a habit. but I would also check into his little world a bit - something stressful? anxiety with classmates? girl trouble? there might be something else that is driving him to twitch with his hair...
good luck.
:)
-c