14 Mo Old Bangs Head When She Get's Upset

My 15 month old daughter pulled her hair when she did not get her way. After talking to her doctor he told me to act like I was not paying attention to her pulling her hair so that she would stop since mommy was not looking anyways. If you pretend to not notice that she is banging her head she will eventually stop because she won't be getting any reaction from you. It is normal. They are learning to test the boundaries. It is actually a sign that they are learning. Try not to worry too much about it!

As a mother of 3 autistic children, head banging can be a "normal phase they grow out of" or it could be a something else. If you have no other concerns about development, then she will probably grow out of it as long as she does not get attention or her way as a result of the head banging. If she is having sensory issues or communication frustrations, this could continue.
I do want to correct something that someone said earlier that "she won't hurt herself". That may be true of typical developing children, but kids with autism will bang their head until it hurts (they will also actually starve themselves as well). This is where you need to look to see if your child is developing on a typical level, if so then wait for her to grow out of it. If this is only one of a few concerns, then talk with your pediatrician and check out more developmental information.

I am not trying to say your child has autism, I am just explaining the difference between "she will grow out of it" and what could possibly be a red flag for something more serious.

My son used to bang his head up against the crib (back and forth)... it was his way of rocking himself to sleep. My doctor said it was not abnormal and to make sure there were adequate "bumpers" on the side so he didn't hurt himself.
He's always been a very active "agressive" OCD type of kid... this has continued and now he's 13. (He's a great kid, by the way!).... just very Type A!
Good luck.

My son did the same thing. Everyone would gasp and run to him. Completely ignore her when she does it. I bet she stops within a week. (I know it's hard but that's what I did and he stopped almost immediately.)

This is a very common behavior, especially at that age. My son did it from about 15-18 months and still does it occasionally at 23 months. I did pretty extensive research, plus talked to my pediatrician and other moms, and here is what I found most helpful-
- Studies show that about 1 in 10 kids does this, some show as high as 1 in 5.
- As scary as it looks, they will not whack themselves hard enough to do any real damage.
- If you know the bang is coming, move them to a soft place, like onto carpet, the couch, etc.
- And the classic...It really is just a phase, and it will pass.

Hope this helps!

I have a freiend who works with social services- they are trained to hold babies who have tantrums in a hug from behind - sit down, pick up or hold the baby or toddler or child from behind holding their arms firmly across their chests, and legs corraled between your own.. Be firm, but nor rough or violent. Just hold them, and keep calm- emotionless- so to speak. Any show of emotion can rile a child up- they are out of control, they desperately NEED you to be in control- its ok to talk, sympathize etc after the incident but until they are calm, hold them and be silent. Then when they are calmer, be soothing, communicate clear expectations or whatever is needed. It DOES work/:)

I know it sounds cruel but just ignore her. As long as she is obviously ok. The more attention you give her the more that she will do it and continue to do it because she gets attention from mommy. My son used to do it. Took him about a week to figure out that I was not going to pick him up or give him any attention. He still does it every once in a while to test me out but I stand firm and he quits. I have also noticed that he doesnt bang his head anymore than he seems to be able to take( he doesn't start acting funny or anything)

They will learn not to do it, they will learn when she ges to the point that she feels that it hurts, with the other two that responded do not give her attention like if she bangs her head on somethen n starts crying ignore her, she will eventually stop doing this.

My son used to do that. He eventually outgrew it.

My son and our neighbors daughter both did this. They both did it when frustrated or tired and couldn't communicate it to anyone. I just told my son "that'll hurt" and rubbed it a little and distracted him. He outgrew it after a while. Just don't give him/her a lot of attention and they'll stop!

Hi N.,
I'm an OT who worked with little kids for 6 years. It's not *abnormal* if she's getting a lot of attention, or getting away with something by doing it (learned behaviors can look crazy sometimes).

I'd be worried if she just sat around and banged her head over anything (wet diaper, hungry, sleepy, etc).
T

Just wanted to let you know you are not alone! My 18 month old son does this too. I'm glad you asked this question because it was good to see my son is not the only one! Based on the other responses I will make sure I don't pay any attention to him when he does it, although it's kind of embarrassing when he does it in public.