13 month old banging head

aboehman1

My otherwise sweet 13 month old son has recently started temper tantrums and banging his head on my chest or the wall when he is upset. Normal?

mama&baby

Yup.  I don't know where the posts are so I would try searching for more responses... but this is completely normal. My LO has done this and I think it's worse for us than him, but he does have bruises on his head because of it.

SamiandEric913

Mine started smacking his head with his hands at that age. I think he does it to himself because he gets time outs for hitting others. He doesn't do it much anymore--only when very tired and frustrated. My DCP said 3 of her 5 kids did this when young, too.

jmlushbough

SamiandEric913:

Mine started smacking his head with his hands at that age.

 

I've just noticed our one year old hitting herself in the head. It seems to happen for attention (Hey! Look at me!!!) or for sensory input (I wonder what this feels like?). Not much you can do except try to make sure they don't really hurt themselves. Also, we try to name their emotions as they're having them - "Oh! You look really mad. I can see that you're upset because Mama said no." etc. - and give them signs (ASL) when they're pre-verbal to help them communicate.

Good luck, Mama! Totally normal. You're not alone! 

jaymiegerard

I think it is normal.  My 16 month old does it ALL THE TIME lately, every time he gets upset about anything.  And it's on the floor, the table, the chair, my leg, my face, basically anything he can smash his face/head into.  He's given himself a bloody lip 3 times.  It is incredibly upsetting, but I know it's just a stage.  I also know that he does it and immediately looks for my reaction and comes over wanting a kiss.  It's so hard, but I try to pretend I don't notice, or I'll turn away and totally change my body language to not engage with him when he does it.  Of course, if he's bleeding I pick him up, but I'm really trying not to feed into this behavior.