Does/has your kid hit him/herself in the head?

SigmundsGirl · June 2011

The past few weeks Evan has started hitting himself in the head. He doesn't hit himself with anything other than the palm of his hand, and he isn't hitting very hard. When I see it I tell him, "No hitting. Touch softly." Then he will start to pet his head. Then he smiles and hits himself again.

He doesn't do it too often, but I notice it more when we tell him "no." I think it is a way to get a reaction out of us. It really bothers DH. He'll grab Evan's hand and make a sad face when he tells him not to hit.

There are thousands of posts on the internet ranging from "this is normal" to "your kid my have autism."

Anyone else experience this?

Judesmom09 · June 2011

My son thinks its funny to hit hit face against the ouch or ottoman. He does it some times and cracks up every time, till he hits it too hard and then cries. I think they are just experimenting. I wouldn't worry much about it unless its like an all day every day thing. He will probably cut it out soon and move on to the next "weird" thing

Suzi-G- · June 2011

Cooper's never done that but I know I have heard a LOT of friends say their kids hit their heads or bang their heads on the floor. (Especially boys it seems?) I think it's pretty normal. Does he do it when he's frustrated with something? If so I'd work really hard on teaching him to say or sign "help" instead of getting frustrated. Cooper screams when he's frustrated so we're working on saying "help" instead. LOL I wouldn't worry, kids do all sorts of crazy things.

SigmundsGirl · June 2011

Thanks ladies! I'm glad to know we aren't alone.

Suzi - I don't think he is frustrated - he whines when we his and we shoud work on this too. Never thought to teach him how to say help. Good call.

I think he does this when we say No, when he doesn't get his way (like he can't get out of his car seat), or when he is being mischievious. Luckily it only lasts for a few minutes. But I think we need to stop reacting to it; especially my DH. Evan is starting to like the reaction he gets and wonders why it bothers DH so much.

nchschic05 · June 2011

C doesn't use his hand but he has just started hitting his head against the wall but not hard, for him I think it's more for the noise. I tell him no and he justs giggles at me. I don't think it's that big of a deal unless it becomes really out of hand.

KNJepp · June 2011

Cameron went through a somewhat similar phase a while back, stopped for a while,and is now back at it, except it's hitting his head on things (walls, floor, etc.). It seems to mostly be when he's been told "no". It's kind of weird, because it often seems like he's doing it as a form of self-punishment moreso than frustration or anger. During the first round, I worked hard at ignoring it (as was suggested in the reading I did) and it went away for a while. Hoping it goes away again soon!

SigmundsGirl · June 2011

KNJepp:
Cameron went through a somewhat similar phase a while back, stopped for a while,and is now back at it, except it's hitting his head on things (walls, floor, etc.). It seems to mostly be when he's been told "no". It's kind of weird, because it often seems like he's doing it as a form of self-punishment moreso than frustration or anger. During the first round, I worked hard at ignoring it (as was suggested in the reading I did) and it went away for a while. Hoping it goes away again soon!

I hope it goes away quickly for both of us. I'm going to try to get DH on board with ignoring it. And you are right, it almost seemed like self-punishment. And then it seemed like he liked that we responded to it. I can't wait until he speaks well enough to answer the question, "why are you hitting yourself?"

SigmundsGirl · June 2011

KNJepp:
Cameron went through a somewhat similar phase a while back, stopped for a while,and is now back at it, except it's hitting his head on things (walls, floor, etc.). It seems to mostly be when he's been told "no". It's kind of weird, because it often seems like he's doing it as a form of self-punishment moreso than frustration or anger. During the first round, I worked hard at ignoring it (as was suggested in the reading I did) and it went away for a while. Hoping it goes away again soon!

I hope it goes away quickly for both of us. I'm going to try to get DH on board with ignoring it. And you are right, it almost seemed like self-punishment. And then it seemed like he liked that we responded to it. I can't wait until he speaks well enough to answer the question, "why are you hitting yourself?"

rayskit10 · June 2011

TRuitt used to sit on the floor with his back against the wall and lightly hit his head, then harder and harder until he would hurt himself. When I went to the doctor and asked about this behavior she looked at me thoughtfully and said "hmmm... is he a BOY?" and I was like "Um, yeah." "Normal." she said.

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