81/2 month old contantly hits head

[misslollipop]

hi

just wondering if this was normal behaviour, my son is always banging his head on the couch or the table or the head of my bed, he sits there and does it on purpose and laughs. so i wanted to know is he sort of seeing how hard  he can hit before it hurts???

[Kim1989]

like will he rock back and forth and his his head?

my moms friends (my old gaurdians) use to have this girl who use to do that all the time. i dont kno if it was out of bordem or what it was. she seems alright. but if your concerned, take it up with his doctor

[misslollipop]

yer he sits there rocking back and forth and bangs his head, he is alright he normal in every way, i wonder if it's boredom tho even though he is always doing stuff

[tiredbuthappy]

i was going to ask something similar. dd recently started to slap her head with she's tired. i am thinking in her case it's soothing.  i did do some research and found many many people ask this question on parenting forums, so it's quite common. the responses people give is that it's normal.

[mary345]

my son did the same thing and the dr told me it's normal but now he has been diagnosed autistic he is 5 and started the head banging thing once he could crawl and still to this day he hits his head on things and bites himself i can't tell you how many times we have gone to the er because he has needed stitches.  but his dr still tells me it's normal i have a friend who has a son that did the same thing and he is perfectly fine i would just say keep an eye on it we knew something was wrong when he was a little over 2 and wasn't talking

[mami1323]

Yes!!!!  What is this?  My ds just started doing it as well.  He's going on 8 months next week.  When I'm feeding him his bottle, he punches himself in the head or face.  He bangs his head on the floor or wall.  He pulls himself up on our headboard, which is metal and pulls himself up to hit his head.  I guess it is common.  Thanks for the post.

[alikat1205]

i know that head banging is an action that falls in the autism spectrum, which is not to say your child is autistic, but that it is something that bears checking out.  

[mami1323]

That scares me now.  Goodness...I can't believe this.

[mami1323]

I found this:

Head banging is surprisingly common. Up to 20 percent of babies and toddlers bang their head on purpose, although boys are three times more likely to do it than girls. Head banging often starts in the second half of the first year and peaks between 18 and 24 months of age. Your child's head banging habit may last for several months, or even years, though most children outgrow it by age 3.

Possible reasons your toddler may bang his head: • Self-comfort. As strange as it may sound, most toddlers who indulge in this behavior do it to relax. They bang their head rhythmically as they're falling asleep, when they wake up in the middle of the night, or even while they're sleeping. Some rock on all fours as well. Developmental experts believe that the rhythmic motion, like rocking in a chair, may help your toddler soothe himself.

• Pain relief. Your toddler may also bang his head if he's in pain — from teething or an ear infection, for example. Head banging seems to help kids feel better, perhaps by distracting them from the discomfort in their mouth or ear.

• Frustration. If your toddler bangs his head during temper tantrums, he's probably trying to vent some strong emotions. He hasn't yet learned to express his feelings adequately through words, so he's using physical actions. And again, he may be comforting himself during this very stressful event.

• A need for attention. Ongoing head banging may also be a way for your toddler to get attention. Understandably, you may tend to become solicitous when you see your child doing something that appears self-destructive. And since he likes it when you fuss over his behavior, he may continue the head banging in order to get the attention he wants.

• A developmental problem. Head banging can be associated with autism and other developmental disorders — but in most of these cases, it's just one of many behavioral red flags. Rarely does head banging alone signal a serious problem.

[misslollipop]

thanks for that, had noticed it started when he started teething and also does it when we are in the room for attension. He has no problems cause he is talking and very smart and cluey only have to show him something once and he will imitate you, i would say that it's mostly attension and teething.

[kjbutcher]

As for the slapping when tired...AJ did the same thing.  I always thought it was his way of trying to keep himself awake.  The rocking and banging the head.  Every single child under 18 months that I have watched have ALL done the same thing and turned out to be perfectly normal.  Sometimes they would really worry me with how hard they would actually hit, but never any blood or negative diagnosis'.  I think at 8.5 months old there would be other symptoms of autism that you would notice like lack of noise making.  

[melimeli]

my dd would bang her head when she was little until there were like bumps and buses on her forehead.. she would do it out of anger or being upset... she outgrew it and is a very pleasent social little girl of 6 years old

[alikat1205]

i don't think that head banging means you have an autistic child, i did say that, but since it is an autistic behavior i think it should be brought to the pediatrician's attention.  more likely than not, it's just a behavior to self soothe, but early intervention is critical in autistic children so better to cross that off than ignore.  many children are not diagnosed until closer to age 3 so all i am saying is be aware, that is all.

[misslollipop]

understand the concept of autism, i have worked with children with autism so i'm aware of the behaviour, but i think it's a game to him cause he only does it when we are around him and is looking at our reaction to what he is doing.  he is such a funny kid have to have a good laugh at him

[jenshim]

Hmm...thanks for giving this link from the other post. Brody hits his head and bounces the front of his face off of things. Last night we were at the "concert in the park" downtown and he had quite the audience as he was doing this. He was bouncing his face off of my chest