1 Year Old Banging His Head!!

My son did the same thing back in January, he was about18 months old. He ended up having an ear infection, the doctor compared it to feeling like there is water in the ears and it will not come out. He had tubes put in and has had no problems since. Hope this helps!

I have read in several books that it might be due to either teething (it somehow comforts them) or because they just like the rhythm. Both are crazy to me but I've heard it's very common. My son has done it a few different times, usually when he's been teething or going through some sort of change. He actually started doing it today and I think one of his eye-teeth are coming in. I would talk to your doctor but not worry much. It is common.

Hi D.~
Just to add to Karen's advice...my niece did this for YEARS. While hers was more like rocking, she would bang her head on the rock-back. She's 21 and once in a while she still does it. For the most part, it's self-soothing, so, like Karen said try not to make a big deal/reaction and it may stop. It never hurts to mention it on the next dr. visit just so it can be charted in case it were ever to evolve into something else.
~L.

One thing about kids is sometimes we freek out more about things then they do. i once was cutting my baby's nais down and cut the skin a little bit and it started bleeding bad. I was Crying and worroied thinking he was going to bleed to death. ANd I looked down and he as laughing at me. I don;t hink he even felt that I cut the skin and not the nail. So. if he;s not hurt then don;t worry about it. If you notice when he falls and if he doesn;t cry until you start running over asking him if he;s alright then he;s o.k.

Hi D.,
Have you ever had a sore spot in your neck or spine and put pressure on it and felt some relief. Children who hit their head often are found to have nerve pressure in their upper neck or at the base of the skull,that can interfere with the way their nervous system funtions. Does your son tend to bang his head in the front (forehead) or in the back or sides. When you take his picture is it difficult to get him to look up or does he tend to keep his eyes "toward the stars".

Kids take a lot of small trauma in the first year of life. Learning to walk, wrestling with big brothers and in the case of mine doing summersaults off the couch! This trauma can cause this nerve pressure and it increases with a growth spurt.

Children need to be evaluated for nerve pressure by a chiropractor just like they are evaluated for cavaties or any thing else. If you would like to find a chiropractor who specializes in pediatrics check out the Michigan Chiropractic Pediatric Association's website at www.MCPAkids.org.

Best of luck to you.
N. Poirier, D.C., CACCP

Hi, I know it's hard but try not to worry too much, my son did the same thing and it only lasted about 2 maybe 3 weeks. Then he seemed to have gotten it out of his system. We were able to distract him with toys and games when he started to bang his head and that worked great. When I asked my pediatrician about it he said it was a phase just like sticking everything in the mouth to see what it tastes like, this was to see what happened when he banged on different things. His only advice was to make sure we didn't make a big deal out of it, because if he got a great reaction out of us than he would keep doing it just to get a fun reaction again. Hope this helps. Good luck.

K.

what i did with my little one is tell them not to do it correct them when they do.she now is older and dose it n i have to hold her but he is to young for that i wouldnt worry to much hes only 1 just watch it n correct it is what ild do

By girl used to sit w/ her back to the wall and bang her head till she fell fast asleep. The Doc says that she isn't doing it hard enough to do any damage, just ignor it.