13-Month Old Pulling Out Hair

Hey S.,

This is actually is fairly common. My cousin used to pull the fuzz off his teddy bear and eat it. I also had a friend whos daughter pulled out her own hair and ate it. She always kept her hair really short. Maybe you could keep her hair in a pony tail or in little braids or something... I think its from something lacking in her diet. Have you called her pedi? I don't think it really has anything to do with you having another baby...b/c my friend whos daughter did it, they weren't moving and she was the "baby" of the family.

Good Luck with everything!!

hi, i've been told sometimes when there is alot of changes in the home or the parents are stress, our poor babies feel the same way. so they pull out there hair as a comfort/stress mechanism. i know when i was a baby i did the same thing and a doctor told my mom that i'm stressed because of what was going on in the home. this might not be the same situation for you but i just thought i let you know because if it is you can better help your baby out with a little more attention and love.

I have a friend whose little girl (2) is doing this. They just moved. I'm sure your girl knows about the baby, she may be nervous about that. Kids know more than you think. Another lady suggested cutting her hair so she can't get it in her mouth. That sounds like a practical solution, I'd do it. Maia has bald spots, but I'm sure as soon as she let's it happen they'll grow back. Oh and her father is gone a lot, he's in the Army.

Good luck. If it continues to be a problem see a doctor. Depending on what's causing it, there's no shame whatsoever in a little therapy. Everyone can use it from time to time!

-S

S.- Make sure you tell your pediatrician about this.

J.

Hi S.
My daughter did the same thing usually while riding in the car or when she just would wake up from her nap. I talked to her MD b/c then she started pulling out her eyelashes which freaked me out. Pediatrician said it is common and not to worry will most likely out grow it. She is now 22 months and I haven't seen her do it for several months now.

Hi S.,

Call your peditrician. D.

S.,

My daughter is 6 years old and has been pulling her hair since she was 2. Her pediatrician diagnosed it as trichotillomania. There is no medical cure and most kids grow out of it. My daughter also pulls her hair while she sucking her thumb. I had to figure out why she sucked her thumb (bored, learning something new at school, tired, etc) then redirect her actions. So now when we see her getting bored, I turn the TV on to something she's interested in or I turn on the music and we start dancing. She goes months without sucking her thumb or pulling her hair then her schedule changes (summer, cheerleading, etc) and she goes back to the comfort of sucking her thumb. So with that said, try to encourage your daughter to stop sucking her thumb and the hair pulling will probably stop as well. There is a book by Ruth Goldfinger Golomb called "the Hair Pulling "Habit" and You" which is geared towards a teenager who pulls her hair but it has some interesting information for parents as well. Good luck.

My daughter did this around the same time in age. We were told it is a comfort thing. Elena would end up getting her finger twisted and knotted during her sleep and wake up screaming. She was getting a bald spot from all the pulling, if the hair folicals get too damaged from continued use of this there is a chance the hair won't grow back. We ended up cutting her hair shorter to prevent her from pulling it to her mouth. By the time the hair grew out she didn't pull it out anymore. I hope this helped.

S.
Mom to three

It sounds like what my son does with his blankie. Maybe you could try giving her a small cuddle blanket to sleep with. Good luck!