Another Term for Banging Head on Wall Over and Over and Over Again
So You've Got a Little Headbanger
Some babies and toddlers bump their heads on purpose. Here'southward why and what to do virtually information technology.
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A lot of parenting questions eddy downwardly to: Is this a affair, or is something wrong? We're doing an occasional series explaining why certain things seem to happen to your kid (or to your torso or to your relationships) equally your child grows. This week, nosotros're talking near baby caput banging. Read previous "Is this a affair?" newsletters here . If you have a question for a hereafter "Is this a thing?" email us .
Q: My 11-calendar month-quondam LIKES to hit his head on things. He does information technology accidentally plenty often, too, just sometimes he purposefully bumps his head on a window, for example, until we stop him. Is this a affair?
—Josie Curtis, Portland, Ore.
A: Though your son's habit of repeatedly bonking his tiny head against a window may seem pretty bizarre (and possibly alarming), information technology is a mutual behavior for babies and piffling kids, according to the pediatricians and psychologist I spoke to for this piece.
According to Patricia Kurtz, Ph.D., the director of neurobehavioral outpatient services at the Kennedy Krieger Plant in Baltimore, "about fifteen per centum of immature children may bang their heads at some point prior to historic period 2," if they're developing typically. The behavior may outset as early equally six months and proceed into early childhood, said Nia Heard-Garris, M.D., an attending dr. at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children'due south Hospital of Chicago. Dr. Heard-Garris and Dr. Kurtz both said the behavior is more common in boys than in girls.
So why are they doing it? There are a few reasons.
To get your attention. Particularly for kids who don't have linguistic communication notwithstanding, whacking their heads against something is a great manner to go mom or dad to come scurrying over. In typical motor development, kids may occasionally bang their heads randomly, Dr. Kurtz said. Simply if they realize caput banging gets y'all to pay attending, they may brand information technology into a game. What started out every bit a random accident "tin develop into a learned behavior," Dr. Kurtz said. (I never had a headbanger, just I recognized the parent-toddler feedback loop Dr. Kurtz described: One of my kids figured out that licking strange surfaces reliably got our attention, so she licked everything, including a window at Southwest Florida International Airport, looking positively delighted with herself. We're just lucky she didn't become botulism.)
To discourage the behavior, move the child away from any surface she'south banging her head against; say, "no caput banging;" and distract her with a song or a game, said Hugh Bases, M.D., a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at N.Y.U. School of Medicine.
To self-soothe. Some children volition bang their heads around naptime or bedtime, Dr. Heard-Garris said, as a way to calm their bodies down. "That repetition, that movement, that calms down their brain and tells them its fourth dimension to go to sleep," she said. Hearing the rhythmic thump-thump-thump of your child's head striking the mattress for 10 minutes might exist upsetting, Dr. Heard-Garris said. Simply do not install bumpers or put stuffed animals into the crib to interrupt your headbanger, she cautioned, every bit the safest sleep surround for babies is an empty crib with a flat mattress (more than on safe slumber guidelines here).
And don't become into the baby's room every fourth dimension you hear the banging — he volition accept a very difficult time sleeping if you interrupt his soothing rituals. If you're concerned, you lot can watch him on a video monitor, Dr. Heard-Garris said.
To limited frustration. Earlier children tin convey their feelings in words, they may blindside their heads if they are frustrated with a task. In that instance, Dr. Bases said, observe the kid's behavior. If you can recognize the signs of your child'due south frustration, you can aid her before she starts head banging, Dr. Bases said.
When to worry. If your child is regularly head banging to the point of bruising, swelling or cocky-injury, you should phone call your pediatrician, Dr. Kurtz said. Same goes for if the frequency or intensity of the caput banging picks up. It may exist a sign of an ear infection or gastroesophageal reflux in preverbal kids, because they can't express the pain they're feeling, so a medical workup may be in social club.
If the head banging is accompanied past missed milestones, and delayed speech or motor skills, it'southward likewise something to mention to your pediatrician. According to Dr. Kurtz, if your kid has already been diagnosed with a developmental delay or other disorder or disability, make sure to inform the pediatrician about the head banging, as it may develop into a more serious problem. Dr. Kurtz suggested closely observing the behavior, noting what tends to inspire the head banging and even taking videos of your kid's head banging, equally it may exist useful for a pediatrician or other specialist to watch your little headbanger in action.
Want More than on Babe and Toddler Behavior?
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Apparently I don't have the simply lil' licker out in that location: The Oregon City Public Library has a "lick bucket," where you lot tin put objects that your child has defiled (presumably for the librarian to disinfect later).
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Our 3-year-old dreaded and fought the nightly application of medications for her terrible eczema. My husband convinced her it wasn't medicine but rather magical body paint — now she excitedly participates in the creation of artistic masterpieces every night.
—Asiya Shakir, Atlanta
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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/parenting/so-youve-got-a-little-headbanger.html
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