Concern on My Son Hitting His Head with His Hands Alot!!

My daughter...when she's gets upset...she will slap herself on her arms and hands.

As long as there are no other unusual behaviors to suggestion something else, he's probably just trying to find ways to express all the emotions bottled up inside.

Ask him to use his words. Tell Mama what you need. Then say..."I need..." and try to get him to fill in the blanks. I don't know how old he is but if he can talk, maybe he's just frustrated with not being able to express his feelings.

My daughter also exhibited this behavior. It was initialy very upsetting. Nothing worked until one day I asked her to 'please stop hitting MY baby' For whatever reason she thought about it and then stopped.

I am not sure if that is what did it or if she would have just stopped at that time on her own. Eitherway, take comfort in the fact that it's a phase, he'll outgrow it. Probably, replacing it with something else that will worry you ;)

Dear S.,

I don't know anything about this, and I suspect that your doctor doesn't either. Get on the internet and search and search and search, you will find the correct answer and the correct way that you should handle this.

Until you find out why he does this, then redirect him. When he is hitting, then find something very, very interesting and surprising and get his attention on that. If you try to plan ahead and save those interesting and surprising things for his hitting episodes, then it will be easier for you to do. No, you won't be rewarding him for hitting, you are finding ways to distract him so that he can forget the hitting . If you can't think of anything right away, then pick him up and start singing and dancing with him. He would probably love that.
Sincerely, C. N.

I've had a couple of friends that theyr'e sons did the same thing. It would freak me out cause my son's never did that.But I do remember my best friend telling me that the doctor said the same thing..it was normal..more for boys than girls? Her son would hit his forehead against the glass patio door! I do believe her doctor put her son on a no sugar diet. Even as infants he said they get too much sugar....Hope this helps ease your mind...I will also mention that her son has grown in to a very normal, healthy, 22 year old!

I think you should find another doctor. Please have your son evaluated by early intervention services in your area. It's free and serves children 0-3 years. At age 3 the school district takes over and does the evaluations for school placement. It is not normal for children to hit themselves. If your Mom instinct says something is wrong, listen to it. I did, and my daughter was diagnosed with high functioning autism. I wish I had listened to my instinct sooner. She is making tremendous progress but wish we had had an earlier diagnosis. Never listen to people when they tell you to wait and see, especially when it comes to your kids. Better to have an evaluation and make sure than to waste valuable time that could be used for therapy if needed.

How old is your son? My son at about age 2 started doing that. He was diagnosed with autism at age 3.

OH my goodness Sara, my son has been doing the same thing, and I absolutely can't stand it. He is almost 2 years old and I have been trying all sorts of things to get it to stop. I tried just talking to him and telling him it's a no no and that it hurts mommy when he does that to himself. I've tried hitting myself and pretending to cry so he knows it's not good, i've even tried the whole approach of holding his hands down and telling him no in a stern voice and keeping his hands down until he stops wanting to. I didn't like that one too much , it made me feel like a bad mommy. But I still have the same problem, now i do have to say it has not been as often as it used to be since i keep saying no and talking to him over and over. Maybe he i beginning to understand, I'm not sure! good luck and let me know if you find something that really works.

Hi Sarath
My son slap his head again the back of his car seat when I play music in the car.
I don’t like much because it looks crazy but it is the way he bring out the excitement he loves music "Jonny Cash"LOL we are a fun of country music specially he likes "Johnny Cash"
Don’t worry!
Josie

I have come across this with my kids, first my son whose 18 now and my 12 yr old daughter. It's a way to release the stress I was told. But hitting their head I was feeling just like you. You can damage your brain or your head in other ways. Eye sight and more. I just told them if they didn't quit I would do the same. So when I finally had enough of worrien I showed them what it looks like hitting your head. After that soon enough they quit. Both my kids one at a time.
They didn't want to see mom hurt no more.

But I'm still confused about doctors saying it's ok. I know when I hit my head it hurts for a long time and the headache afterwards wasn't a good one or even mild. So I believe it is not good for anyone to hit their head.
Try asking your child to re-direct his stress on something else, like sports or jumping just about anything will do. Besides hitting their head.

M. L.

S.,

This type of behavior CAN be a sensory seeking behavior that MAY be a sign of autism. I'm definitely not saying your son is autistic but I am saying that this can be a warning sign. If you are in Las Vegas and your son is under 3 years old, I'd recommend calling Nevada Early Intervention Services ###-###-####. If you are somewhere else, your pediatrician should be able to tell you who to call. As long as you are in the U.S. you should be able to access a similar service and it is FREE and you can self refer (basically call and make an appointment without seeing a doctor or anything first). My older son is autistic and believe me, it is something you really don't ever want to hear about your child, but if there is an issue, you want to know about it as early as possible because there is a lot they can do to help but the earlier you get started the better.

T.