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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Toddlers
Head banging to fall asleep...?



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raich




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Nov 20 2014, 1:10 pm
My 18 month old has developed this habit of sitting against his crib bars and rhythmically knocking the back of his head against them. He does this to help him fall asleep and will do it when I put him in for naps, at bedtime, and then in the middle of the night if he wakes up and is trying to put himself back to sleep. I asked the doctor who said that it sounds bizarre but that it's a relatively normal behavior and doesn't indicate anything serious or bad. He was only concerned that my son shouldn't knock himself too hard and hurt himself. He doesn't seem to be hurting himself from it, as he doesn't cry, but now I'm concerned about that and want to make sure he doesn't! (And it's also quite loud and wakes us up in the middle of the night, sometimes multiple times a night...)

Has anyone else had this issue? What did you do about it?
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chani8




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Nov 20 2014, 1:33 pm
I would be upset about that, too. Is there some way to pad the crib?

Maybe a weighted blanket would be helpful.

Perhaps try to get him attached to a toy that he can play with in his bed. A bear that plays music has been helpful here. Of course, the child may play with it in the middle of the night, but hear a musical bear is better than the head banging.

Be sure to give him lots of opportunity for stimulation during the day, like swinging and jumping. He might still fit in a jumperoo at that age, which was a big hit with my kids.
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MaBelleVie




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Nov 20 2014, 1:35 pm
I've seen it before, it's just a method of self soothing. I wouldn't be too concerned.
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amother


 

Post Thu, Nov 20 2014, 1:49 pm
My ds does this too. He started doing it at around 12/15 months of age and is still doing it at age Two..
It's very loud and wakes me up at night. I was concerned and asked my pediatrician who said that at this age, it's normal self soothing behavior.
I'm glad to hear he's not the only one doing it.. I find it a bit disgruntling and worrisome even though I was told it's okay
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lizard8




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Nov 30 2014, 8:37 pm
My ds has been a head banger since he was just a couple of months old! I was also nervous at first but the dr. told me not to worry. He also told me that studies show a correlation between music lovers and head bangers. DS is 2 now, and rocks himself to sleep while singing.
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Ruchel




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Dec 01 2014, 8:10 am
My two older did it. It stopped. They're more normal than me Tongue Out
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raich




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Oct 27 2019, 10:19 pm
I know that this is an outdated post, but in case anyone would ever find this helpful or they're going out of their minds with their kid's head banging, the experts were correct in saying that these behaviors usually stop at around age 4! My son stopped his head banging just around that time. And I find that the correlation between head banging and musical affinity is true for my son as well! He is exceptionally musical for his age and it's a nice flip side to his maddening habit of years ago. So moms out there, there's hope!
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amother
Powderblue


 

Post Mon, Oct 28 2019, 1:26 am
Surprised TMI
still a headbanger at age...not telling
laying on my stomach
banging head into pillow
THE MOST EMBARRASSING THING ABOUT MYSELF

good thing husband loves me enough not to be wierded out
I'm pretty normal otherwise
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pilotoo




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Oct 28 2019, 3:35 am
hi, please look into having his ears checked by a competent ENT. my friend's son did the same thing as a toddler. He was later treated with chronic ear infections that were overlooked by his pediatrician as "normal toddler ear infections" I don't know all the specifics of his particular case but I do know that he unfortunately had lasting damage from chronic fluid build up and eventually when treated by a competent ENT (for corrective surgery), the ENT made the connection between his toddler banging habit and chronic ear fluid. He said he was most likely banging himself because he felt like he was underwater...
don't know if it is at all connected to your child's symptoms but felt it was worth mentioning.
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