Kids headbanger issue, risk factor and treatments

A lot of parenting issues boil down to: Is this something wrong, or it a thing? We are explaining in an occasional series why some things happen to your child (or to your body or your relationships) as your child grows. This week, we are talking about beating the baby’s head. Read the previous “Is this a thing?” Newspaper here. If you have a question for the future “Is this a thing?”

Q: My 11-month-old loves to bang his head on things. He does it accidentally, too often, but sometimes he deliberately puts his head on the window, for example, until we stop him. Is that it

A: Although your son’s habit of repeatedly tying his small head against a window may seem very bizarre (and possibly dangerous), it is normal behavior for infants and young children, according to pediatricians and psychologists I spoke for this piece.

According to Patricia Kurtz, director of neurobehavioral outpatient services at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Ph.D., “about 15 percent of young children can beat their head at some point before the age of two,” if they are generally growing. Huh. This behavior can begin at 6 months and continue in childhood, NIA Herd-Garris, Am. D., Ann and Robert H. of Chicago An attending physician at Lurie Children’s Hospital said. Dr. Herd-Garris and Drs. Both Kurtz stated that behavior is more common in boys than girls.

So why are they doing this? There are a few reasons.

To get your attention. Particularly for children who do not yet have language, separating their heads from something is a great way to scare mom or dad. In specific motor development, children may occasionally bang their heads randomly, Drs. Kurtz said. But if they feel that beheading you have to pay attention, then they can turn it into a game. What began as a random accident “can develop into a learned behavior,” Dr. Kurtz said. (I never had a headbanger, but I did recognize the parent-child feedback loop. Dr. Kurtz pointed out: One of my kids thought that licking foreign surfaces reliably gets our attention, so he did it in the southwest. I got everything, including a window at the international airport, looking positively happy with myself. We are lucky to not have botulism.)

To discourage behavior, move the child away from the surface by hitting his head; Says “No Head Beats?” And distract him with a song or a play, said Hugh Gass, M.D., a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at N.Y.U. School of Medicine.

Calm yourself Dr. Herd-Garris said that some people would sit on their heads as a way to calm their bodies. “That repetition, that movement, that calms their brains and tells them their time to sleep,” she said. Dr. Heard-Garris said that listening to the rhythmic thump-thump of his child’s head can upset the mattress for 10 minutes. But don’t install bumpers or put stuffed animals in the crib to disrupt your headbanger, she warned, because the safest sleeping environment for babies is an empty crib with a flat mattress (more on safe sleeping guidelines here ).

You do not go to the child’s room every time you hear a bang – if you interrupt his soothing rituals then it will be very difficult for him to sleep. If you are worried, you can watch it on the video monitor, dr. Herd-Garris said.

To express disappointment. Before children can express their feelings in words, they can bang their head if they are frustrated with a task. In that case, Drs. Bess said, observe the child’s behavior. If you can recognize the signs of the frustration of your child, you can help him before he starts banging his head, Dr. Bess said.

When to worry? If your child is regularly beheading at the point of injury, swelling, or self-injury, you should call your pediatrician, Dr. Kurtz said. If the frequency or intensity of the explosion is picked, the same happens. It may be a sign of an ear infection or gastroesophageal reflux in preterm children, as they cannot express the pain they are feeling, so a medical function may be in order.

If the headband has a missed milestone, and delayed speech or motor skills, it is also with your pediatrician. Dr. According to Kurtz, if your child has already been diagnosed with a developmental delay or other disorder or disability, be sure to inform the pediatrician about headbanging, as it may develop into a more serious problem… Dr. Kurtz suggested watching the behavior closely, noting that it would be tempting to take videos of him beating the head and even beating his child’s head, as it would a pediatrician or Can be useful for another specialist so that you can see your little headbanger. 

Want more on baby and toddler behavior?

Has your child ever caught a pebble or other foreign object through his nose? We’re here to help.

You may have heard the cliche that young children soak new languages ​​like sponges. Lindsey Patterson thought she would move to Barcelona when she was 3 years old, but the reality – and science – became a bit more complicated.

Apparently, I’m not the only licker out there: there’s a “picket bucket” in the Oregon City Public Library, where you can place items your child has defiled (possibly for the librarian to disinfect later ).