Seeking Advice on What to Do About My Sons Hair Obsession!

A friend of mine has found a solution that may help. In the malls they sell those scrunchies that look like real hair and kind of feel like real hair....she has placed one around the neck of a stuffed animal - gives her daughter the hair fix she needs and allows others to put her to bed besides mommmy.
Hope you find something that works

teach him to be gentle it may prove to be relaxing to both of you

hi L.,

I dont have an answer for you, but I also have a 21/2 yr old son who does the same exact thing. EVERY NIGHT. I try to put it up and he cries my hair mommy. Sometimes in the middle of the night when he wakes up hes sleeping crying for it or if he's still in my bed hes reaching for it and he pulls hard sometimes. I've asked my pediatrician about it and he said it seems to be his security blanket and like anything else i should wean him off but I don't know how. Hes been doing this since he was a newborn. So please if u figure something out let me know. and I'll do the same

I met a woman a while back who had the same problem. She ended up making a soft cloth doll... think Waldorf style... with her OWN hair as the doll hair. She got her hair cut and saved a bit that was 2-3 inches long. She arranged it flat on a piece of wax paper, and ran a couple of lines of craft glue along the top to hold the "line" of hair together. She then just sewed it into the seam line at the top of the dolls head (think those little troll dolls). It did the trick!

I think that sounds very sweet. It probably won't last for years. However, you might want to get him a cabbage patch doll with the same color hair as yours. The texture is almost the same as real hair. Or like someone else suggested, making a doll with your own hair. It won't take that long to grow back. It's ok for boys to have dolls. :) Remember the My Buddy dolls?

My son played with my hair from about 7 months old until he was about 2 1/2. he is now almost three. When I would feed him his bottle or rock him he wanted my hair. By complete accident he found a giraffe that he plays with now, the tail only, so it gave me a break, but when he is tired now, and if my hair is up in a poneytail, he wants it down to play with. Which is fine with me. The giraffe goes everywhere and we have two, one for daycare and one for home, and the tail is almost bald. :)
Good luck.

I have heard of parents giving their children those faux hair pieces to take to bed.

This might sound weird, but a few friends of mine have had kids with the same habit. What you could try is getting one of those fake hair pieces, and let him play with that at night before bed...

I don't think your son will continue this for years to come. It's very comforting for him, it's his way of knwoing that you will be there when he wakes up. I think it's rather sweet. How long does it take for him to fall asleep? Perhaps you can pair the behavior with another activity that is just as comforting and slowly fade the "hair-twirling" behavior. For example, maybe you can allow him to twirl your hair while you read books to him or listen to classical music while in bed (can make kids fall asleep faster). It's important for this to occur when he is in bed, so he knows that "hair-twirling" will only happen when he is in bed.

He is so little, let him have his hair, it will not hurt anything at his age. Nothing you say can make him stop, it comforts him. My daughter does the same thing. The only thing that will make him stop are his friends commenting on it. And that will make him consious of where he plays with his hair. He will also just grow out if it as a constant habit, until he can get his wife to twirl his hair when he is an adult. It is harmless.. much better than thumb sucking, hair cannot ruin a childs teeth.