Head Banging - Saginaw,MI

This probably isn't much help...but here it is anyway.
My daughter used to do that too. So much so that she would fall down on the hardwood floors in my house and bang her head so it would crack open and bleed. I even tried putting her in her room, but she would run at the door and whack her head on it. I pretty much didn't take her anywhere for the first two years because she always had a bruise on her forehead and I was afraid people would think I was beating her! I tried everything...and nothing seemed to work. Eventually she just stopped. I think she was around two and a half. It was very frustrating, but she just stopped on her own.

Hello I'm a 35 yr old single full time mom. My son is now 9yrs old. I had a very similar situation, my son gave my brother a black eye by head bunting him.
1st off I have to say I do not agree with the ignoring part.
Think, he is banging is head and he is banging it hard. Would if he got a concusion or something worse. I'm sorry I beleive this is not a situation you can ignore.
What I found worked very well for me and other friends was, When your son headbangs, grab him wrap your arms around him tell him you love him and continue telling him that. Go sit in a place he feels safe, you want that so he is not fighting you to get to a safe place. Get a pillow (or stuffed animal) show him to hit his head on the pillow, yes you do it then ask him to show you how he can do it, he will probably smile. Explain to him, this is his and only his special pillow for when he wants to bang his head. Keep that pillow around at all times and when he starts to bang his head or headbundt anyone put the pillow there in place of whatever he is trying to bang his head on.
Continue with this method as long as it takes, he will eventually stop. However this way know onw is getting hurt in the process.. I hope you this helps you and your son and may the best come out with whatever you try.
Sincerly, M.

I know your pediatrician said that it's normal but if you can get him checked out by a chiropractor. I used to work in a chiropractor's office and this was actually something i came across. They should be able to help you answer some questions.

My son is 18 months and we are going through the same thing! It is very frustrating I know. We treat this behavior the same way we do hitting. When he does it we tell him "no head butting" and he gets a time out just as he would if he were to hit. I think the best thing you can do is to let him know this behavior is unacceptable. It may take a while, but gradually my son has slowed down with this and hopefully yours will too. Good luck!

My 18 mth old doesn't head butt other people but we are going through the banging his own head in anger and frustration on things. I know they say to ignore it but I can't just sit there and watch him hurt himself. I have been moving him to the loveseat which is soft all around when he starts banging his head. This is also his time out spot and he usually calms down after a few minutes. Good luck!!

Sounds like he may be craving some sensory input.

You might try having him do some "heavy lifting" give him a box to drive around the house, put heavy books, or pop bottles full of water in the box.

otherwise, you need to protect him and yourselves. When he's headbanging you can bearhug him from behind (with his head hitting your chest) until the tantrum ends. He'll fight you, but it's better than hurting himself or someone else.

Hi M.,
My cousin went through the same situation with her son. She told him (each time - which was often), that it was not nice and he is hurting people and he needs to stop. If he didn't stop he got a time-out. It sounds like your son is pretty young for that but you might try ignoring (lack of attention makes kids change/work for your attention). You can't ignore when he head butts someone but if its your or your husband you can ignore (just put him down, if holding, and walk away). It will most-likely hurt his feeling and when he comes to you with an attitude change you can show attention again. Sounds harsh and it's really hard the first couple of tries. But if you ignore/don't show attention, you'll notice that after the first few it doesn't take as long for him to stop doing it. I'm interested to see how it turns out for you (no matter what method you try).

My son does it too. His head butting is probably encouraged by my husband, who head butts him when they play. But he does bang his head when he's tired and doesn't get his way. It has seemed to lessen throughout the past months. I was told to ignore it as well.

I suppose when he head butts people, you can tell him no, and that hurts people, I wouldn't give him a lot of attention when he does it, just a simple and stern no.

Hope that helps.
C.

Hi,
Your son could just be seeking that sensory input. Or he could just be mad and trying to get your attention. But if he is seeking input you could try giving him tight hugs, lay him on the floor and use a ball or lay a pillow over his body (not head) and push, even having a pillow fight works good. I have a two year old and he loves to be on our bed so while he is crawling/walking around we knock him over with a pillow and then briefly (2-5 seconds)squish him. He loves it and is in hystarics after doing it two or three times. The body needs that deep pressure input to help regulate and organize and he may not be getting what he needs. Swinging is good stimulation also. Just a thought. Hope it helps.

M. my little guy did this as well. It is very hard to get them to stop headbutting and whatever I tried did not work. Unfortunately it's just a phase they go through and mine stopped within 2 to 3 months. He also did the head banging thing on floor wall crib but that too has passed. It only becomes a concern if it continues through aged 2 or 3 I think I was told. You may be able to find a little more info through google if you're really worried. Good luck. One thing I can say is if he's really upset with you and throwing his head at you or all over is to clamp his head to your shoulder with the hand that isn't holding him. Obviously make sure he's got breathing room, but this did help me if I had to carry him somewhere when he decided to do this.

Intersting, My 20 month old does the same thing. I tell him that it hurts when he does it and I also tell him that it hurts my feelings. That works for me. My son also will lay on the floor and just head bang the floor. The only other thing I could suggest is to try to ignore it when it happens. I hope this suggestion can give you some hope.