Normal Behavior

It's normal and just ignore it. She'll learn to speak soon enough and some of the frustration she is feeling will go away as she is more able to communicate her needs. Both my girls had some sort of head hitting phase.

Hi A.,
When she does it, try saying in a fun way and with a big smile, "Heeeeyyyyy! Don't hit my baby!" This will distract her while letting her know you really don't want her to do it.

D.

My daughter did the same thing and she outgrew it pretty quickly. I didn't make a big deal about it. When she would do it, I'd ask her if mommy could help her with something and she'd show me most of the time. (Like, when she was frustrated with a toy, or in the shopping cart at the store.) Don't worry!

I think that sounds pretty normal. I would just hold her hand after she does that and tell her softly no-no you'll hurt yourself. My little boy did this as well and this method worked for me. I have heard a lot of moms complain of this and some even state that their child bangs their head on the wall. It is just a way to get the frustration out. Hope this helps :o).
Jen

This is normal. The people that say to use sarcasm or outright ignore her might get "results" but what kind parent uses that with someone that can't talk or understand such subtleties of language? Try to figure out what is frustrating your daughter and help her through it. Try to calm her down and talk TO her. You'll be surprised what she does understand when presented in clear and simple terms. My daughter who is the same age occasionally does the same thing, usually when I'm too distracted to notice she's having a hard time with something. I wouldn't be concerned about autism or sensory disorders unless there are other symptoms present such as eating problems, poor eye contact, other easily researched symptoms. Good luck!

Ignore it, ask your pediatrician if it progresses....

And don't forget when you get the opportunity to show/model another way to deal with frustration....For ex. you are stuck in traffic,"say I am so frustrated we can't move" then sing a song and clap your hands about it, or something like that. You might even teach her to turn on her "own" music box when she is angry or frustrated (something calming) have it powered up so all she has to do is push play.

This will pass..

I would say it's pretty normal. You may want to check with your doctor as previous posts suggested, but most likely it is just a phase. My son went through this for a short period nad then started with the wacking his head on the floor or wall or crib rail...whatever was convenient. One thing that helped him was signing...it didn't take care of it completely, but it cut down on some of his frustration with making us understand what he wanted...we mostly used the signs for more, help, milk, eat, and finished. He was starting to talk a little by that age, but it was often very difficult for us to understand. Otherwise, I would just ignore her when she hits herself.

My son did this at about the same age but he banged his head on the floor or the wall. Sometimes hard enough to make himself cry. I asked my ped and he said to ignore it completely. Do not make eye contact and do not talk to her. Plus as hard as it is, if she does do it hard enough that she realizes that she made it hurt and cries do not comfort her. The crying will only last a minute or two anyways. If you do comfort her you are telling her that's exactly what she should do to get your attention. This part was hard for me but we were over it in about a month or two.

Ignore it. They all do this to some extent at this age. The time to do something about it is when she's getting a bit older. If she's still doing it by the time she's 2 to 2 1/2, I'd bring it up with her doctor. I'd also bring it up if she's actually hurting herself, or if it evolves to a more dangerous practice, like hitting her head on the floor or wall and injuring herself.

One of my kids did that(I can't remember which one). I seem to remember ignoring it. Sometimes I would ask her calmly if it hurt her when she did it. The behavior stopped in a pretty short time - maybe a month or so?

Hi!
First of all let me start by saying this is just my opinion. I am not claiming to be a specialist in any way. However, my background is Early Childhood Education and I work with special needs children. This may or may not be normal behavior. I may also need more information as to when this behavior occurs. It would be helpful to document this. This will show what is going on at the time of this behavior and may give clues as to why your child is doing this. Is your child verbal? If not, she could be getting frustrated because she can not get her point across and exhibiting that behavior. However, if your child is verbal and unfamiliar listeners can understand her, it may not be normal behavior. I would definitely document when this behavior occurs so you have more information and discuss this with her pediatrition. When this occurs, I would ignore it (do not draw attention to it), and at the same time redirect her attention to something else.
I hope this helped.

Both of my kids have done this at one point or another. When i asked my pediatrician about it, he said that basically it is their way of calming themselves. They don't know how to de-stress like we do by going for a run or drinking a glass of wine etc. If she is not hurting herself dont worry about it, this like all stages, will pass. good luck!

I've seen several posts about this and it seems to be common. My son (13 mos) days the same thing. He will start hitting himself in the head and he even falls out by throwing his head back and hitting it on the floor. I'm going to bring this up when we go to our 15 month well visit appointment. I'm not to concerned because I truly believe this is their way of communicating. Since they cannot verbally express what they want they act out in this way. If you are really concerned contact your pediatrician. BTW..I ignore this behavior when my son does it. He notices that I don't give him the attention and he moves on to something else. So don't worry, I'm sure your daughter is fine.

Yes, it CAN be normal...but doesn't necessarily mean that it is for your child. I have known many children that "act out" by banging their head on furniture and the floor. For them it was just a phase they went through, however; I have "heard" that some autistic children do this to. It would probably be wise to follow up with your child's medical provider just to make sure.

I think so, but check with your pediatrician.

A.,

My daughter did this too at that age, although she got worse. I'm not saying your little girl will. Ignoring it is the best solution at this point. If by 18 months, she's still doing it or it has gotten worse to like banging on other things like the floor or something, then talk to your pediatrician about it. My daughter is now 4 years old and on occasion may do it when another child is being disciplined (like her brother), but otherwise she has quit.

Hi A.,

IGNORE it my son used to do that as well and when I didn't pay any attention to him he finally figured it out. It is a control thing that the kids try to do or attention either one. It is hard not wanting to give it any attention but once you ignore that she will stop.

Good Luck
K.