Worried about 1 year old and his constant headbutting.. :-(

[natasja32]

My little Eli is such a good boy.He has this horrible habit of going on all fours rocking back and forth headbutting his cot. He only does this when we put him down for a nap and his night time sleep,and sometimes when we go into his room in the middle of the night,and he stirs he starts doing it automatically. Its worrying me to death as its really scary to see with how much force he bangs his head... Does any1 know why he does this? Could it be a self soothing thing? Im sitting downstairs and can hear him banging away,im terrified he will hurt himself. Ive tried going in and stopping him ie: moving him down to the end of the cot,but he moves back up just to do this banging motion before he falls asleep....Has anyone got any ideas? Im desperate to stop him from doing it.

 

[MotherBeth]

I just looked it up in my toddler book for you. In summary, it says

A) It's perfectly normal.
B) Yes, it's a comfort activity. He's doing it to sooth himself.
C) He'll probably stop on his own by or before age three.
D) Trying to force him to stop won't work.
E) It can help a little to put soft padding around the inside of the crib, take the wheels off the crib so it doesn't shake, and make sure it's on a rug or carpet.
F) Also, since it is a sign of a more intense child who has a little bit of nervous energy to get out, you can work on making sure he's getting enough activity (rocking and dancing is suggested since it's the rhythmic feel of head banging that's soothing), make sure his life in general is as low-stress as possible so he's not reacting to that, and maybe have a bedtime ritual that includes soothing music and rocking. However -- there's nothing wrong with a child who head bangs -- it's reasonably common. And all of these suggestions are sort of long-term helpful hints that may or may not bring any quick results. So in the meantime, pad the crib and nearby walls so as to slightly soften the blows!

Can't vouch for the info myself, but that's the gist of what it says!

 

[natasja32]

I just looked it up in my toddler book for you. In summary, it says

A) It's perfectly normal.
B) Yes, it's a comfort activity. He's doing it to sooth himself.
C) He'll probably stop on his own by or before age three.
D) Trying to force him to stop won't work.
E) It can help a little to put soft padding around the inside of the crib, take the wheels off the crib so it doesn't shake, and make sure it's on a rug or carpet.
F) Also, since it is a sign of a more intense child who has a little bit of nervous energy to get out, you can work on making sure he's getting enough activity (rocking and dancing is suggested since it's the rhythmic feel of head banging that's soothing), make sure his life in general is as low-stress as possible so he's not reacting to that, and maybe have a bedtime ritual that includes soothing music and rocking. However -- there's nothing wrong with a child who head bangs -- it's reasonably common. And all of these suggestions are sort of long-term helpful hints that may or may not bring any quick results. So in the meantime, pad the crib and nearby walls so as to slightly soften the blows!

Can't vouch for the info myself, but that's the gist of what it says!

Thanks so much for the reply. It helps alot. It sounds awful and looks awful when he does this. He is generally a very chilled baby apart from the one thing.Why couldnt he just have a blankie or suck his thumb.

 

[Miss_Bump]

I just looked it up in my toddler book for you. In summary, it says

A) It's perfectly normal.
B) Yes, it's a comfort activity. He's doing it to sooth himself.
C) He'll probably stop on his own by or before age three.
D) Trying to force him to stop won't work.
E) It can help a little to put soft padding around the inside of the crib, take the wheels off the crib so it doesn't shake, and make sure it's on a rug or carpet.
F) Also, since it is a sign of a more intense child who has a little bit of nervous energy to get out, you can work on making sure he's getting enough activity (rocking and dancing is suggested since it's the rhythmic feel of head banging that's soothing), make sure his life in general is as low-stress as possible so he's not reacting to that, and maybe have a bedtime ritual that includes soothing music and rocking. However -- there's nothing wrong with a child who head bangs -- it's reasonably common. And all of these suggestions are sort of long-term helpful hints that may or may not bring any quick results. So in the meantime, pad the crib and nearby walls so as to slightly soften the blows!

Can't vouch for the info myself, but that's the gist of what it says!

What book is that?

 

[natasja32]

Any other thoughts or advice?

 

[MotherBeth]

What book is that?

"What to expect in the Toddler Years" -- the big, thick one.

But I summarized! Didn't type out all the paragraphs.

 

[Bumbled Bee]

My son used to do this too. I'd read that it was normal, and he didn't seem to be hurting himself so I didn't worry. One thing I found interesting was that around that age, babies start experimenting with rhythm and if they don't have the opportunities to bang stuff during the day, they will use their alone time in the crib to practice making beats and rhythms. I have my son a drum and drum stick and he loved it! And the head banging stopped!

 

[bestdad]

I had the same sort of problem and gave my son a little drum with a stick and tambourine. Now he bangs on that instead of his head.

 

[natasja32]

Thanks for all the advice. Eli has things to bang ie tamborine ect. But he also crawls around and bangs his hands on the furnitute ie: Kitchen doors,tables ect. I went into his room last night,he had fallen asleep and woken up. Started rocking and banging his head. I went in moved him down(he was still asleep) and as soon as I put him down he moved straight back up to the top of the cot untill he could feel the cot against his head and and then proceded to carry on banging his head.