One Year Old's Behavior - Odd or Normal??

I am not a professional, but my daughter, who is now 14 months, did go through this phase for a couple of months. She still does when I ask for a kiss, but not as much. She has pretty much out-grown it. Good luck!

Normal - it's a phase.
First, they are doing it on their own because it's a sensation, obviously she is liking it more than it is hurting. She doesn't think of it as 'violence' or 'wrong' she thinks of it (to the extent she's thinking of it) as 'feels interesting.'
Second, they keep doing it because it gets attention from you - don't pay it any attention, and it will taper off.
Finally, keep an eye on it to see if it happens when she is tired or frustrated, if so, try to head it off with a nap or handing her a toy or something.

completely, and totally ignore it...she will stop. if she headbutts you, get up and walk away

Although not every child will do it, it is definately normal...you are not alone.

My nephew, now 22, use to be horrible about headbutting people (especially me!). He also watched a lot of professional wrestling so some of his came from imiatating the wrestlers. Then, he would continue you for the attention/reaction it would cause. He went so far as to pretend to hug me after he headbutted my nose (talk about hurting!!!!!) and as my defenses were down and I put my arm around him he attempted it again (which I promptly caught). His continued until one time when he hurt his forehead by falling out of a shopping cart. That very day, he tried to headbutt something and it hurt him...that was the day he stopped headbutting others!

For your situation (and probably the norm), I would suggest not having a big reaction but a stern one. Some of it could be frustration/communication sruggles but some could also be the attention it brings. Good luck!

I swear this lasted at least 3 months in my son, which seemed long when I was talking to other moms, but still it went away. I've only know a few children whose mom insist they never went through this stage. My son has a pain issue, so he was a little hard on himself, so we would redirect if he repeatedly did the same spot over and over or if he was being too hard, by saying things like be gentle to my boy, etc, which may have made it last longer, since we we're trying to stop the behavior, but he was giving himself bruises, so if she doesn't seem to be hurting herself, I would ignore it.

I remember my daughter doing this too. Now she is a bright and normal 4 yr old:)

My son does this too. (19 mon) He got a little rough with it for a while but we just encouraged him to be more gentle and now it is back to the lean. It is his form of kissing - not a attention thing. I don't know why he does it - he doesn't watch tv at all so I don't think that is it. I think it will be OK.

I have read in several places that this is normal. They want attention and she has found that this gets it. It is also a cause and effect thing. Some kids for some reason are comforted by it (the same way they some are comforted by the bouncing rhythms). As long as she isn't hurting herself and is otherwise normal, I would ignore it.

This is a normal stage that some babies go through. My oldest daughter and my son did it. My oldest did it to get attention, and as soon as we started ignoring her (we would make sure she was in a safe place and then turn away from her) within a few weeks it completely stopped. My son did it out of frustration (which he will still do on occasion but only when he gets really frustrated but he learned that from watching his father). We found other ways for him to express his frustration and that cut it down dramatically. Relax, she will outgrow it. It is nothing that you have done and does not result from watching tv.

My 15 mos old does it as well. I am not worried, my now 3 yr old did this too and he stopped. I think as long as it's not out of anger then you shouldn't worry. Just watch your nose!

Good Luck!
O.-mom of 3

yup it's a phase and it's normal. just keep her head safe from hard surfaces and yours and you'll be ok til she decides to stop.

It sounds pretty normal to me! My son (now 2) did/does the same thing, only now it has become an anger thing for him, so I have to get after him for it. As long as she's not doing it to be mean, I think you are ok. Ethan did it to the couch, wall, everything! Sometimes hard enough that you would think it would hurt, but of course, the lil hard-head just laughed! haha! He also started it as a "kiss" or a little head "BONK" game I've played w/both my kids...only the second really got into it that much! aren't kids funny? it especially amazes me how much different both my boys are! I saw where someone mentioned to watch your nose...also your mouth. Ethan has busted my lip but good a few times! and if you wear glasses! He busted my nose by pushing my glasses into them, too! Good luck!

Hi B.!

My son did the same thing and it started when he was around 10-11 months. We used to tell him "no", but realized that the more attention we paid to this behavior, the more he did it. We also noticed that he did it when he was tired. Now, we try to ignore the behavior or distract him with something and it seems to have helped. He is now 14 months old and hardly ever does it anymore. Our pediatrician told us that it is completely normal.

i completely agree that it's normal. my son oldest (and now my 16 month old) did this w/ his hitting stage. it always seemed to be out of frustration over communication, tiredness, or after being told not to hit (hit himself after swatting at me or dogs, etc..) i would just add that you should probably ignore her, so she doesn't get a pay-off for the action. unless, of course, she's hurting herself or someone else. hope that helps

My 13 month old is doing the same exact thing... He head butts sometimes out of affection and sometimes out of attention. He also will slap himself on the head over and over. I have been told it is normal and some kids do this. I notice that often it is due to frustration but sometimes also for attention. I bet it decreases when he can communicate better. I don't think TV has anything to do with it... Don't beat yourself up over it... it isn't anything you have done. Just maybe try to work with her to not get frustrated... soon she will be pointing to things she wants and I bet she understands more than you think ; )

Hey B., my name is M. and I have a 15month old little boy that used to do the same thing. I wondered if it ever hurt but he just continued to do it. He almost completely grew out of it. He still does it but not as much or as hard. I think it's normal, she's just trying new ways to have fun! Good luck!!!!!!!

Both of my children did some head butting. It was almost a way of self expression that came from frustration of not being able to communicate what they wanted/needed. Sometimes it even occurred at times where they may have become "over stimulated" or "over tired".

I know it can be very scary because we are so afraid they are going to hurt themselves!

Maybe talk with your pediatrician about it to see if they recommend anything to help curb the problem???

I would vote "normal," unless she's doing it to hurt herself or someone else. Maybe she's just exploring a new sensation?
I did just read a study that claims TV background noise disrupts development: http://greatexpectationspregnancy.blogspot.com/
... but I doubt it causes head-butting!