Does your toddler ever hold her breath when she cries? How do you handle it?

theycallmejen · June 2013

Thanks

hopefulmom81 · June 2013

Mine doesn't (yet).

I would ignore it because freaking out will just give attention to the behavior and make LO do it more.

Your body won't let you die from holding your breath. Your biological systems will always restore normal breathing. I don't mean to be flippant because I would be really scared if I saw DD do this.

emnoahmom · June 2013

Yup! I try to find something to distract him like look out the window and such. I do this because my three yr old has done this a few times since he was a baby and passes out, which scares me.

Zimger · June 2013

My DS doesn't do this but I worked with a child who did. He would pass out from holding his breath. She would blow in his face which shocked him (so he would stop). I simply moved him out of harms way and let him have his fit.

preggersin2011 · June 2013

Just ignore it- Once they pass out they will start breathing again.....

ave1012 · June 2013

DD has done this for a while now, she is now 13 months. She gets purple and the first time it happenedI freaked out. Turns out that DH use to also do this and MIL said that he eventually stopped though he did pass out on a rare occasion. I know it is hard to deal with, when it does happen I usually rub on DD back gently and calmly tell her it is okay. It will pass in time.

gracefulruby33 · June 2013

DD has done it since birth. If it goes on for a longer than normal period, I blow on her face and she takes a breath.

huskymomma94 · June 2013

My son has always done this. Sometimes it helps to blow in his face. The pedi told me its normal.

lisac1017 · June 2013

preggersin2011:
Just ignore it- Once they pass out they will start breathing again.....

this. I apparently used to hold my breath when I didn't get my way (a little different but still...) My mom would let me do it because she knew once I passed out, I'd breathe normally again. I pray my child does not get my stubbornness.

lolinshag · June 2013

When DD is extremely upset she will hold her breath until she passes out (usually only out for a few seconds). She has done it since she was 6 months old. She used to do it anytime she got upset, but I just kept on about my business. Now she only does it if she has really hurt herself. They only reason I didn't freak out the first time she did it? Listening to my boss tell stories about her red head doing the same thing when she was a baby.

Funny Story: One time she did it at her doctors office. She slipped off a chair and fell flat on her face and bit her tongue. She started turning blue around the lips from holding her breath. Dr was yelling at her saying "breathe Lily breath" and was laying her out for cpr. I just stood back and tried not to laugh at him (he and my husband are best friends since they were toddlers!) She passed out and started breathing normally. He plopped down and said he had heard about kids doing that, but never witnessed one.

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Does your toddler ever hold her breath when she cries? How do you handle it?

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