Toddler Is Banging Head

K.,

Before I answer I want to give you a bit of my background so that you understand where I'm coming from. I am a Chiropractor that is working toward a certification in pediatrics. I have finished all of the necessary course work and now just have to finish the exam to be certified. It is very common for young children to bang their heads, but not "normal". Head banging is a very strong indicator that your child has a subluxation (malposition) of her skull or on of the vertebrae in her neck. I would strongly recommend that she see a chiropractor ASAP. You can locate a pediatric chiropractor in your area on the following website:
www.icpa4kids.org.

If you have anymore questions please contact me.

Dr. K. K.

My brother did the same exact thing and did it I wanna say from around 1-3 years old maybe. I am only a year older so I don't exactly remember but my family still laughs and tells stories about this and when we would all go to the cabin how he'd keep everyone awake all night. My brother outgrew this and is normal.

If she's not bothering anyone let it be, if it's keeping anyone awake prehaps find different sleeping arrangements. It's like someone who grinds their teeth or sleep walks they have no control. You could try and pad her crib or bed so that it's not as loud. At 1.5 years old they can have squishy things in bed. Pillows blankets that's all fine.

My son started banging his head when he was 3 months old while he slept. At the same time, he was diagnosed with reactive airway disorder (asthma). I mentioned it to the doctor everytime we went in for a visit. It is not uncommon for infants to head bang, but the usually grow out of it by the age of 2. When he moved out of a crib to a bed, we had to pad the headboard so he wouldn't hit his head so hard. When he was sleeping in a bed without a headboard, he hit the wall so hard, that it shook the whole house and would wake all of us up including his younger sister. We made a tempory padded headboard with an old sheet and pillows until we found a padded headboad.
Matthew is now 5 and starting kindergarten today. He is an intelligent and physically active boy. He still bangs his head when he sleeps. Usually when he is overly tired, mad, or he bangs his head when he is trying to fall asleep. He doesn't know why he does it when asked. We do have to tell him to stop on occation, but with the padded headboard, the rest of us can sleep.
Hopefully, this is just a phase your daughter is in and she will out grow it. Good luck!

My best friend did this all through childhood and even through adolescence. They took her in to have testing done and it showed that her brain waves were abnormal. However, there is nothing they could do for it. She eventually stopped but once in a while if she is really strssed out, someone will tell her she was doing it. It's very odd, but I don't think it hurts them. Her parents used to just try and make sure she was doing it against something soft.