Head banging

mama&baby

Anyone else's LO obsessed with doing this? I can't remember if I had posted about this or not because the dam* search function isn't working for me....

LO has certain days where this isn't as much of an issue... and sometimes he does it all the time. He will take toys and bash them into his head, stand up and bang his head against the table/couch/whatever, and he will also headbonk the crap out of me when I hold him (he finds this very amusing... especially when he gets those awkward "you should stop but it's still funny" laughs out of people). There have been times when he has multiple bruises on his forehead (luckily the long hair covers it up). He normally seems to stop when he hurts himself.... and I try to ignore in an attempt to stop it which sometimes works and other times makes him do it even more. I have read that it can be a manifestation of autism, but is usually accompanied by anti-social tendencies in that case. I haven't noticed other changes in his behavior that can't be explained by teething and he is still a normally happy baby. Anyone else?

mben1119

DS does this sometimes. DH did it as a child too, and so did my little brother, from what I remember. Neither of them are autistic (or even on the spectrum). I think you might be putting the cart before the horse on this one.

Chan4dra04

mabenner1:

DS does this sometimes. DH did it as a child too, and so did my little brother, from what I remember. Neither of them are autistic (or even on the spectrum). I think you might be putting the cart before the horse on this one.

I agree with this.  Talk to the pedi if you are concerned, but I find a lot of comfort in hearing other moms' experiences, and I know quite a few who had children that did this.  Not sure what it's about but, I think it hurts moms more than baby, unless the baby does it hard enough to hurt themselves then they either stop or in the middle of a tantrum (in which I have heard is pretty common for them to do during). 

 

mben1119

Chan4dra04:

mabenner1:

DS does this sometimes. DH did it as a child too, and so did my little brother, from what I remember. Neither of them are autistic (or even on the spectrum). I think you might be putting the cart before the horse on this one.

I agree with this.  Talk to the pedi if you are concerned, but I find a lot of comfort in hearing other moms' experiences, and I know quite a few who had children that did this.  Not sure what it's about but, I think it hurts moms more than baby, unless the baby does it hard enough to hurt themselves then they either stop or in the middle of a tantrum (in which I have heard is pretty common for them to do during). 

 

DS does it while he's playing. He laughs while he does it. I think it is just a new thing he learned, so he does it. I never thought to google it.

jb2rn

My son does. Mostly when he is playing, so he is often laughing and throwing his whole body around. I think it's just fun, honestly.

He also does it in his high chair, but that is because he wants to get out

If his other behavior is "normal" (interactive, social, babbles) I would not worry.

smwiggle

DS will sit on the floor and bang his head against the couch or the coffee table.  It doesn't seem to hurt him.

mama&baby

jb2rn:

My son does. Mostly when he is playing, so he is often laughing and throwing his whole body around. I think it's just fun, honestly.

He also does it in his high chair, but that is because he wants to get out

If his other behavior is "normal" (interactive, social, babbles) I would not worry.

Thanks ladies! Yeah I didn't think too much about the autisim thing since he seems to be hitting other milestones and is social... but it's so unsettling sometimes. Sometimes he does it like PP said; he is playing and gets a laugh out of it. Other times... it's a full on temper tantrum. Then he does it just because he's bored LOL...

Oh well- we just have to deal with lots of bruises on the head during this phase!

mben1119

mama&baby:

jb2rn:

My son does. Mostly when he is playing, so he is often laughing and throwing his whole body around. I think it's just fun, honestly.

He also does it in his high chair, but that is because he wants to get out

If his other behavior is "normal" (interactive, social, babbles) I would not worry.

Thanks ladies! Yeah I didn't think too much about the autisim thing since he seems to be hitting other milestones and is social... but it's so unsettling sometimes. Sometimes he does it like PP said; he is playing and gets a laugh out of it. Other times... it's a full on temper tantrum. Then he does it just because he's bored LOL...

Oh well- we just have to deal with lots of bruises on the head during this phase!

Not to scare you, but children with autism and other spectrum disorders usually hit milestones, then regress, usually around 18 months. Your year old baby slamming his head into a wall just like most other babies isn't a red flag.

shabamwam

My son does it on occasion, so the act is something normal of this age. But if it gets to be a concern I'd talk to your pedi about sensory issues. Many kids have them, and there are things you can do to help the issue. I wouldnt be too concerned. GL!

raepny2

Kinda late on this one, but I read (I believe it was Harvey Karp) that this is normal, especially for boys. For most, it's kind of like a rhythm thing.