Hey Ladies,
So, my 2 year old daughter doesn't throw temper tantrums terribly often. However, when she does, yikes! Today we were at someone's house (of course, never happens at home!!), and she was throwing a horrible fit over something and started hitting herself in the head! I mean, really, really hard over and over again. It took all my strength to hold her arms and tell her to be nice to herself and that I didn't want her to hurt herself. I think we do pretty well at handling her tantrums and I know why and when she throws them... Today she was overdue for a nap and she needed to poop - a whole other issue!
Anyway, I'm not necessarily looking for ways to handle the tantrums, but should I be worried about her slapping herself in the head??? Is there some deep-rooted, underlying issue that makes her do this? This isn't the first time, but the worst incident. Or is it just something that some kids do? I can't think of anytime she's ever seen someone do that before... Should I be worried or just let it go as part of what 2 year olds do?
Thanks for reading!
We brought that up to the doctor and she said it was just a matter of frustration and lack of communication for them at such a young age. She has no means of verbally telling you everything and lacks the ability to control her emotions once she hits that level.
She will grow out of it and it sounds like you are handling it just fine.
I wouldn't worry yet. My nephew used to bang his tiny little head into the floor over and over. It freaked us out, but he was fine. My sister would just ignore it, pick him up, say nothing and put him in a safe place like the playpen or his crib until he was done throwing a fit. Obviously, you can't take her arms away, and she really isn't strong enough to hurt herself seriously. The more attention you pay to it, the more she'll do it.
Most likely she doen't have a vocabulary big enough to express her emotions, good or bad. I would mention it to the doctor if she keeps doing it though. My guess is this will stop when she is talking much better. Good Luck!
That is what kids do to get your attention.
I guess I have a different perspective: I feel that when kids are asking for attention they should get it. The more comfortable they feel that they can get attention when they are asking for it, the less they will ask for it, though that happens over time. That is just developmentally where they are at. We expect to get attention as adults when we ask for it, we just ask for it (usually) differently than kids do, and (hopefully) less often.
I think it is out of intense frustration and inability to express it that this is happening for your daughter. I don't have a better answer than that, except to try and find a way for her to express herself or give her frustration an outlet. I would do it soon, as I expect it may get worse when she's 3, like it has with our son! He hardly had any outbursts at 2, but at 3 I need to find a way for him to handle his frustrated energy. I'm thinking the Dr. Sears books may have some good solutions but I haven't had time to check into it. I'm trying to work with his daycare teacher. What they do is tell the kids to use their words to tell why they are angry/frustrated.
best wishes!
My 2 year old doesn't hit himself in the head, but will hit his head into things (floor, door, wall, etc). I brought it up to my dr, he said that it was actually very normal for this age. They don't have the means to communicate their frustrations, and they realize that this particular action gets a lot of attention and reaction from the adults. Before my dr told me it was normal, I would try to stop him from doing it as I thought he was hurting himself. Once dr said that it was a normal behavior, I stepped back a bit. Since then, he rarely does it anymore. I suspect it is because it isn't eliciting much of a response from me anymore.
I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you have other concerns about her behavior/actions. Just bring it up to the dr at your next appt so he/she can talk through it with you.
Wow. I wonder if the stress/anger/frustration
were such that her ears were ringing.
Perhaps her head was hurting because of the adrenalin
and increased blood flow.
Congratulations on being AWARE of what frustrated her.
I cringe when I think of the mothers who have no clue
what is upsetting their child and they expect
the child to stop because they tell him/her to stop.
You might want to mention this to the pediatrician on your next visit.
Or maybe call the nurse advisor at pediatrician's office.
I think that the fact you're aware of the contributing factors
is more than half the "battle".
Keep on keepin' on!!
S.
They call them "Rock-N-Roll" babies. She is looking for her rythum. They need to feel the "rocking bang" in theirs head. Yes, this is just another way to show emotions, to get calmed down and it is very normal. You need to give your girl some banging instruments and tools, so she can saticfy her needs for a "Rock-N-Roll", get her drums or just pots, pans and spoons. Show her how to do it. Another way to help her to find her rythum is to play some "Rock-N-Roll" music loud and just go and dance wild with her banging pots and stuff. And when I say to play "Rock-N-Roll" music I mean real hard rock not a baby stuf. You might be surprise from the effects. Hey, did I say along with that you might have some fun too! Hope I was helpful. Good luck!
P.S. Of course, first make sure that it is not medical. Sometimes the babies bang theirs heads when they have a headache. And for the pooping issue try to give her probiotics. "Miralax" is a save poop softner and it helps a lot, but I prefer the probiotics.
