3.5 Year Old Is Pulling Large Chunks of Hair Out in One Spot

There is a good chance that your daughter may have the same disorder. Trichotillomania is the disorder that causes people to pull out hair, eyelashes etc. Some kids do it at night or in thier sleep....you might trip a night cap or mittens. That has worked for some that I know of. I would take her to the DR and see what they say. A little girl I knew the family cut her hair short and then she was just sad all the time because kids made fun of her. She was 6 though.....so with your daughter being so young it may make no difference.

I would call her doctor. If your brother had a disorder that caused him to do the same thing maybe it is hereditary (sp?). I would call the doctor right away before you have a bald baby! Good luck to you!

There is a disorder called trichotillomania in which people have the impulse to pull out their hair. I would call your pediatrician to get her evaluated and possibly referred to a psychiatrist. Good luck.

Hi K.,
I have one son who does this too. When he first started, he was maybe 3-ish. He pulled an area out that was HUGE and made him look almost like Friar Tuck. I was DEVASTATED. The only reason I knew anything about this syndrome/disorder/whatever you want to call it, is because my very dear friend's daughter did the same thing. I called her and she told me to cut his remaining hair as short as possible so he could not get his fingers around it to pull it out. I didn't really want to, as I prefer hair a bit longer, but when it got to that large of an area (over the course of a couple weeks) I did what she suggested. It worked for him. The hair grew back and we let it grow out longer again, and it ceased to be a problem. He did start doing it a time or two since then, and I've just said, "If you keep doing that, we'll have to cut it short again." We talk about is something stressing him? He's 8 1/2 now. Perhaps his "disorder" is not as severe as some. My friend's daughter quit when she cut it short too. I would try that and don't make a big deal out of it, just do it. I don't think I'd get medical attention until you have done your own research and tried all other suggestions. I did talk to our family dr., who said, "we can give you an rx"...I'd prefer not to medicate if not necessary. That said, had he found a way to continue doing it, or started on his eyelashes or eyebrows, I would have tried an rx for a while. The main objective is to break the habit.
Blessings, I'll be praying for you. You can email me if you want any other suggestions.
Sincerely,
D. E.

My daughter was a hair twister when she was 4 years old. She would come to me to have huge knots combed out of the side of her head. I told her if she didn't stop tangling up her hair we'd have to cut it short. She quit coming & telling me about the knots & started pulling them out herself. I noticed that her hair was really thin on one side of her head, but didn't realized how bad the problem was until I cleaned 11 or 12 big hair balls out from under her bed.

We took her that week & had her hair (which was about 3 or 4 inches past her shoulders) cut to a chin length bob. She never pulled hair out again.

I don't know if your daughter is anything like mine, but she quit pulling her hair because she wanted to grow it out long. I say a short cut is worth a try.

If that doesn't help, call your ped.

My daughter did the same thing when she had just turned 2. We had another daughter when #1 was just 19 months old. At first she was seemingly dealing fine then I noticed a large patch on one side of her head became practically bald almost overnight. We tried everything. She wore mittens to bed (where she did the pulling)and various types of tighter fitting hats (we even made one from pantyhose that would breathe but would fit snugly and fasten under her chin). We ended up cutting her hair pretty short so it didn't look ridiculous with one side so short. I got her all kinds of "loveys" that had different textures...silky, bumpy...even something you bite/chew that vibrates (she would put the hair in her mouth...I found huge wads). What helped more than anything else was for me to relax about it. My anxiety about her hair I'm sure caused her much more anxiety. I feel that she probably had some mild degree of trichotillomania (I freaked myself out researching this). I remember in 5th grade pulling little hairs out of my eyebrows and eyelashes so maybe there is some hereditary factor. I later recalled that my daughter used to wrap my long hair around her fingers when nursing as well as around the base of her "binky". I'm sure that is where she started finding hair in her mouth soothing. Eventually it slowed down...we focused more on talking about her feelings and more acceptable ways to deal with anxiety. Her hair grew back by the time she was 3. She went through a time at around 6 that she started eating a lot of hair again although she never got another bald spot. Now at 8 she no longer has a problem although it is something I keep in the back of my mind when she feels stressed. The last 6 months have been quite stressful as we have been staying with various people as we waited on buying a house but I haven't noticed any hair pulling. We never pursued medical intervention although I was on the verge after nothing seemed to work when she was 2. My best advice again is to make less of it to your daughter than making it a huge deal to her. Maybe wearing her hair in braids might make it less accessible. Remind yourself that it is only hair and that "this too will pass". Keep an eye on her ability to cope with stress/anxiety rather than the symptom of hair pulling.

Good luck. Feel free to email if you just need an understanding ear.

K.