I just noticed yesterday that my 15 month old daughter is developing a bald spot on one side of her head. When she is tired in the moments after I put her down to sleep she'll start pulling her hair. She does this as a comfort thing to put herself to sleep. I never thought about it before until I noticed this patchy spot on her head. She'll pull a single hair out and "tickle" her nose with it. Otherwise she is health happy toddler. Very sociable.
What can I do to stop this before she becomes bald??!!!
I plan on asking her pediatrician next week at her 15 month check-up, but If anyone as any advice for me, I'd appreciate it!
S.
Help her find something else to use for comfort just as you would if she used a pacifier you would replace it maybe take her to the store and let her pick out a "lovey" to go to sleep with something she likes and wants or maybe there is a certain blanket she likes that could "tickle" her nose. She won't do this forever.
Hi S.
OMG... I use to do the exact same thing and sucked my thumb as well. This is one of those stories that my parents will never let me forget even at 30 something. My mother told me mine was so servere she had to have all my hair cut like a little boys..lol
I use to love really soft suffed animals and would plick them to death. Guess that was better than my hair. I hope this helps.
-M.
Randolph
my son use to always have to touch MY hair when he was an infant until about maybe 6 months ago (he's 3 now). I crocheted a little blanky for him (about 5inches by 5inches) and added fringe on the ends.. it took a little bit but eventually he'd focus on that versus my hair. good luck!
My grandaughter used to do the same thing when she got tired. She would twirl her fingers around her hair unconscieously, even while watching TV. She ended up with bald spots on the left side of her head because she is left handed. My daughter would put a cotton mitten on her left hand while she slept. While awake and watching a program, if she saw her twirling her hair, she would tell her that she was going to put the mitten on her hand. She didn't want that! It took a while...but she did break out of the habit and has beautiful thick hair.
S. I imagine how upset this makes you feel .. how ever don't let this upset you so ... My Grand daughter (not biological) always did that in addition to hitting herself to fall asleep and she grew out of the phase .. all kids are different and tend to do so many things that worry us but she will stop this in the meantime you can comfort her with a teddy or blank of her preference or just cradling her .
Maddy
Definitely talk to the pediatrician - but my daughter pulled her hair out in one spot when she was 5 years old, also just when she went to sleep - so I did some reading. Some kids just have brains that are wired to doing this - and generally it is a stress reliever - just like some people bite their nails. Maybe it is helping her unwind at the end of the day - so try to find other things. For my daughter, who admittedly was a little older so I could talk to her, I had her talk to me about what was stressing her out, and then we substituted hair pulling for hair brushing. She had a brush in her bed and brushed her hair instead when she got the urge to pull. You should also try things that will make it difficult for her to pull her hair - a cap on her head, gloves on her fingers, or bandaids on the ends of her fingers. Good luck!
I'd suggest going to Walmart and in the baby aisle, they sell these miniature blankets for babies and toddlers to hold (it was about $10 maybe?). They are made of satin and they are small so the child can hold them, against their cheek. I bought one for my friend's daughter. My own son (now a teenager) used to like to take the corner of his satin-edged blanket and touch it to his temple when falling asleep. I think he did this to mimic when I would stroke his little head near his temple whe he'd lie down. So I think your daughter would love one of these little blankets - she will probably love the satin feel. Good luck!
