Infant Arching & Head-banging

I have a day care and have never had a baby or toddler do more than a few head bangs. Your doctor is your best bet, look to see if he is taking your concern seriously when you talk to him. If he brushes it off, get a second opinion because the more serious things this behavior indicates should be caught early. In the meantime, don't let her do it. Pick her up and take her to a bland, or boring environment and don't talk to her in case the behavior is caused by over-stimulation of her senses. She's a little young for actual temper tantrums. One time you could try some baby Tylenol, she might be in pain and if she settles down in 20 minutes, that would indicate that she does have a headache or something.
I now have a very "grabby" girl, she just turned 2 and now I can talk to her and tell her she doesn't need to grab this or that, she has felt it before. She is just a very active girl and will grow up to be a very successful adult with her high energy level, curiosity and self-assurance, not a bad combination in our society. She also did not like to be cuddled and pulled away from her mother and me when held. Her mother was exactly like her when young and she's a wonderful person now, with that high energy level, etc. When she was around one year old I felt it was time for her to learn to relax in my arms, so I swaddled her and held her tight and fought off her attempts to get away until she gave it up and relaxed a bit. Of course she cried and screamed. I did this several times and very slowly after that her M. reported that she was letting her hold her and the same at my home. She has a very short attention span and "sitting still" span. So once again, around 15 months I began holding her in my lap and 'forcing' her to watch TV (she has no use for it) with the other kids. She will now sit and watch it for more than 2 seconds, but she does seek a lot of attention from me, prefers my company to the other kids' company. So the callenge is to socialize her because she's on a different page than the other kids. Fortunately, she's very smart and comes from a wonderful family with lots of opportunities to learn how to get along and play with others.

My kids did that too. It's a tantrum. The best thing you can do at this age is ignore her. She is looking for a reaction from you, and if you give her one she will keep doing it. Eventually she will give up and try something else to get your attention:)!

Infants can do these things due to an imbalance in their nervous systems. Take her to see a chiropractor that specializes in children. They will evaluate her and then do some gentle adjusmnets on her. After a few visits you should see some differences in her behavior. Go to icpa4kids.com for a chiro for kids near you. I am one in Villa Park and you can check me out at www.breitensteinfamilychiropractic.com

My son, who is now 13m, also did this when he was younger. He doesn't do it anymore. I think he just kinda out grew it. Although he still tantrums at times (what little one doesn't) - he tends to use him mouth more now (screaming) instead of his head into the wall. So it seems like it will pass based on my experience. I did read somewhere, I forget where, that there could be something triggering the tanturm so try and see if you can see what's triggering your baby to get so upset. I wasn't able to see the triggers or figure anything out with that but - but regardless...he did stop throwing himself backwards and banging his head into the wall.

My sisters daughter started doing this from the time she was able to move on her own anytime she would not get what she wants. I was too scared to watch her even when she started to run headfirst into the walls and slam her head into the floor. I told my sister to call the Dr since I was so scared!

Turned out it was just tantrums- or their way of communicating theirs dislikes... as young as 9 months old even they know to do this! The Dr said to just ignore it because she will not bang it hard enough to hurt herself.... well she did end up hurting herself but just with bumps and bruises! She eventually learned it hurts and did not do it as hard or as often!

Definately still talk to your ped though... not all kids are the same but this is our families experience with it!
I hope you find some way to stop it before you are banging your head next to her!
Blessings to you and yours!

Just curious...does she do this after meals?

Hello

My son did a little of that. I did some research and it said not to worry to much about it, b/c they will not do themselves harm. Also I read that it can show a sign of intellengence and this is a way of relieving extra engergy. Like I said this is just stuff I read on the internet I would still check with your doctor and go by what they say.

when my kid did the arching thing, i would tickle him. then he could be so stiff. he ususally did it when i needed to put him in the car seat, stroller, swing. it's not a solution, but it will change his focus and let you get your daughter where you want her.

Take a photo for her baby album....Baby's first Temper Tantrum! I totally have photos and video's of each stage of temper tantrums my son has gone through, at the bequest of my parents and in-laws for the baby book. I put the video's together too on a disk so that he'll have his home video's included in his album. Hahaha. Don't worry she's trying to get attention, and really the best thing to do is ignore it. Eventually she'll either realize that it gets no reaction and try a different tactic, or hurt herself and learn her lesson. Don't expect it to stop overnight though, and realize that this behavior, even if stopped for a time, will again rear its ugly head. my son still does it in spurts till he realizes it hurts and stops again till he forgets. hahaha! Oh and don't worry, every toddler I know regularly has little bruises on thier heads, it doesn't make you a bad mom, it just makes them kids.

my 8 mo old is doing the same thing. she sometimes bangs her head forward onto the carpet when she's on her tummy and then makes herself cry. i think she's just discovered something new she can move on her body. she bangs in her highchair too. she also arches her back when sitting on my lap or lying on her back. no tantrum for her, just discovering new movements.

Ok I am just telling you this because you asked for experiences. My daughter has done this from birth. We had her tested for seizures and nothing. We finally talked more to the pediatrician and she sent her to a pediatric developmental psychologist. She was diagnosed on the autism spectrum. She has aspergers with ADHD. I don't know if this has been a question or anything that you have thought about. Let us know how it goes.

My daughter does the same kind of stuff. Just try to ignore it. The more she knows it bothers you, the more she will do it. They are very smart way too young...

Ahhhh yes. Every single one of my kids has done this. It is totally a temper tantrum. It will eventually pass. When my son does the arching thing when i'm holding him, I set him down. When he is doing the head banging (does it in his high chair, and will run up to a wall, a cabinet, anything really and throw his head into it... sometimes the front, sometimes the back. I won't even look at him when he does it. I say you can be upset, but I wish you wouldn't hurt yourself, you're not getting what you want this way.

It's attention seeking behavior when in the context you describe. I can say my son has learned to bang his head a bit more gentle because he discovered it hurts :)

i had planned to move him to a 'safe' location if it continued the way it was going, like a playpen or his time out chair, but it has seemed to lessen quite a bit. Now he only does it about once a day, when he is hungry for dinner and is getting tired. he's at the point of eliminating the afternoon nap on most days so he's a bt frazzled at the end of the day and loses his composure much easier than when he's well rested.

My kids have all banged their backs against their highchair when they wanted out and were mad. They would also arch their backs when held if mad. I think it's normal and all 3 of my kids are fine. They never banged their heads, but did the rest.

I know it seems scary for your precious little baby to be doing things to hurt herself. Just keep in mind that all kids go through this stage. The biggest reason that kids do it (or so I've been told, and it makes sense), is that they're trying to get a reaction out of you. What do you do when she starts having these tantrums? Do you rub her head or pick her up after she does something like this? She may be aware that she gets extra TLC when she does this. Children thrive from attention, whether it be good or bad. Your daughter may just be trying to get even more attention than I'm sure you're already giving her (remember, it's her world, you just live in it - hahaha!) But definitely don't "baby" her when she "hurts" herself on purpose. Obviously if it's serious, than definitely step in & do everything you can to get her to stop! But like I said, it seems like every child in the world goes through some kind of stage like this & they all seem to turn out just fine. And believe me, I have been around TONS of kids! Hope this helps!

Sincerely,
J.