Banging Head Against High Chair

My son used to bang his head so hard against the back of his highchair that he would end up moving the highchair from the middle of the room all the way against a wall. We tried to get him to stop at first, but nothing ever worked. We ignored it and when we fed him, I just wrapped my feet around the base of the highchair so he couldn't slide away. he eventually stopped.

Try doing it yourself - sit there and shake your head vigorously forward and backward or do it side to side. I'm certain that as an adult it gives you a headache and might make you feel a little dizzy. Did it give you 'the spins'? But for a child, it's a brand new, super cool sensation!

Here might be their thought process: "Whoa, this feels different and cool! Whee! It makes me a little dizzy! Neato!" Followed by "Wow, I really get mommy's attention when I do it, too. If I do it some more, she'll get even more focused on it."

Trust me, I know it is frustrating and annoying. You're probably wondering if he's going to crack his skull open on the wall or the hair chair. As long as you don't think he is in danger of hurting himself, let him bang and shake all he wants. Try to ignore it if possible. If the behavior does not draw attention, then it might become extinct.

We've had to use 'ignore' for a lot of things. Our baby used to do the head shake/bang in the high chair too. We ignore it and it is no longer a 'cool thing' for him to do. He used to throw toys and slap the tv...after about a dozen times of saying "no" (which always resulting him in running RIGHT back to the tv and doing it again), we just started ignoring it. I'd follow that up by turning to my husband and starting up a fake "really interesting" conversation. The baby didn't get the attention from the unwanted behavior, so it ceased. Now at 20 months he's starting to throw tantrums. He starts screaming, crying, and throwing himself into a dramatic puddle of mush on the floor. Guess what we do? Clear the area and make sure in his 'flailing and wailing' he can't hurt himself', step over him, and sit down and go about our business. We don't draw attention to the tantrum and it stops quickly.

Good luck! Welcome to the world of the frustrating and scary things our children will do. Wait til it is climbing on and jumping off the furniture...

My 11 month old started doing this a couple months ago, luckily her feeding chair is designed funny, so she can't actually hit her head. when she did this, I would stop trying to feed her, and stare at her with a blank face, until she stopped and wanted to eat again. after she realized that mommy didn't enjoy it as much as she did, she stopped doing it as often. She still does it sometimes, because the back of her chair is plastic and she can make it spring her forward.

I don't know if this helps or not, but I rememeber reading something about kids banging their head against the crib. I can't remember where I read it, but apparently, it's normal.
It's just a strange thing that babies do. My son will sit up in his crib and lean back and bang his head on the side of the crib. It doesn't seem to hurt him, so for now I don't worry too much about it.
I wish I could tell you more or be more helpful. Sorry.

My son has been doing this for months & it drives me NUTS! He does it on the couch, in his highchair, in his carseat & anytime he is sitting in any kind of chair. How do I stop him from doing it?? I am losing my mind! He is a preemie born at 28 weeks and he was in physical therapy, but is not any longer. The PT suggested that he may have a sensory disorder but he shows no other signs of this disorder. I just need help figuring out how to stop him from doing it. He smacks his head & back so hard into the couch that he knocks the cat off the back of the couch & moves his highchair across my kitchen.

Please help!!!

Do you notice this when he eats certain foods? My daughter did this with bananas and gluten. And she turns her nose up at both at 14m. Sometimes when we are sensitive to certain foods it can cause a headache, earache, etc. Notice what you are feeding him, take notes and discuss it with your doctor. They cannot tell us if they have a headache or an earache, so they don't know what else to do but shake it out. When dogs have ear infections, they'll shake their heads too..a tell tale sign of an ear infection/ache.

Good luck,
J. W. MPH
Lifestyle and Wellness Consultant

I looked the subject up on babycenter.com, and they give several possible reasons: self-comfort, pain relief, frustration, need for attention, or a developmental problem. Most of the time it's just a phase and he'll get over it soon.

The full article is here: http://www.babycenter.com/0_head-banging_11554.bc

Really it's up to you to determine why he's doing it - look for patterns and other clues that could point to a reason. And of course if you think it warrants medical attention, then by all means consult your doctor. It's better safe than sorry! Good luck!

Hi Patty -

My daughter is an expert at this. Though she does have sensory issues among other things, she started this at about 9 months too. I had to retire my high chair and settle for the booster to see if that work. As a result she did it the booster too (didn't get the same result at first) but quickly learned it was a way to ease boredom and satisfy some sensory needs. As an added perk it kept getting our attention. She's 29 months now and still doing it. She'll do the head banging (against our patio doors) specifically for attention. One of my 2 boys used to do this too. Best thing to do is to redirect and not pay too much attention to it. It wouldn't hurt to have him evaluated by Easter Seals to see if he has some sensory issues too. It doesn't cost anything and if he does he can get help early. He may crave movement (if he doesn't walk yet this may be his way of getting some movement). I try to make as little eye contact w/my daughter when she begins; Perhaps before dinner try lots of activities involving moving around. Good Luck!

Hi Patty:

My 10 month old twins also do this - my son more then my daughter. I recently read an article about it on babycenter.com. I think in our case, they're doing it because of teething. The banging seems to stop for a while and then come back. My son started doing it a lot again at breakfast this morning, and he is just about to cut a tooth. Here is a link to the article.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_head-banging_###-###-####.bc

In any case, the article states that 20% of normal children headbang, boys more than girls.

Hopefully they out grow it soon.
A. P

Our daughter does this sometimes, too. She is now 13 mo. but has been doing it for several months. She usually does it when she is no longer hungry. Sometimes she bumps her head on the high chair, the floor, the couch, etc...says "ow" and does it again. Fortunately, she is not doing this very hard. I think she is just experimenting with the sensation. She likes to gently bump foreheads with us, too. I haven't found anything to stop it, but again, she doesn't do it all the time. Good luck!