My daughter has been sucking her thumb since she was an infant. At about two (also the time I had my second baby), she starting twirling her hair with her other hand. She sucks her left thumb and twirls her hair with her right hand. After a while of doing this, I started realizing her hair on the right side was getting thin and short. She apparently gets the hair in a knot when she twirls it, then pulls on the knot until it rips her hair out. Pretty soon her hair was long on the left side and short and thin on the right. I was forced to get her hair cut into a short layered cut to try and even them out. Well, about a year and numerous hair cuts later I'm getting fed up. My daughter is three years old and should have some sort of length to her hair but instead it is above her ears. It breaks my heart and people are constantly thinking she is a boy. I don't know what to do. I've tried dolls hair and ribbons and I don't know what else to do but I really wish I could get her to stop. If I seeing her do it and tell her to stop, she will, but she does it at night when she's going to sleep and I can't very well be in her room every night watching her. I'm pretty sure she doesn't realize she's doing it either. It's a subconscious thing. If anyone has any advice I would really appreciate it. Thanks.
You may want to try putting mittens on her hands. Like the ones you use on infants to keep them from scratching their eyes when born. L., Waverly
I know that this isnt a current post but I feel like i could of written this about my daughter. I feel hopeless and dont know what to do any more. Did your daughter get over the twirling? I was cutting my daughter hair short and now that she has enter pre k I decided to let it grow but im finding hair in places that she was. I really hope I get a reply from you and some hope that this will get better
I had the same problem with my daughter when she was about the same age. She was not a thumb sucker but she twirled her hair and made herself bald on one side. It drove me crazy because I couldn't get her to stop. She is now 6 and there have been no adverse effects from it. It was just a phase she went through apparently. My advice is to continue to correct her when you see her doing it and to watch her. Sometimes that is a sign of other serious problems but most likely, she'll grow out of it and stop on her own.
Hi there. My daughter sucked her two fingers and twirled her hair till she was 7!! I did not have the problem of the hair falling out, but I do understand the frustration. Try putting a glove on her hand to stop the sucking and maybe some kind of cap on her head at night. Once her hair gets long enough to braid, I would try that at night, too. Hope this helps!!!
H.
I had to respond to your request because I am a hair twirler as well! My parents say that I started as a baby too. I am now 31 and still twirl my hair every day. Like someone else said - it is my way to relax. I also get my hair in knots and have to pull it out. But I have tons of hair. People keep telling me I am going to be bald one day but so far, it hasn't happened yet and I doubt very seriously that it ever will. My daughter, who is now 19 months old, is also a hair twirler and will twirl either her own hair or mine, depending on what is convenient at the time. My advice is not to worry about it and I really don't think there is anything you can do to make her stop. Her hair will grow out eventually and she may outgrow the twirling...or she may not.
M.,
i was in a hurry this morning but something told me to take the time to read this mail...i know know why...
when i was your daughters age i too was twisting my hair.
a nurse was telling y mother some really bad advice and had my mother very upset. then my mom noticed when i stood on the car seat next to her when she drove,( yes that was a long time ago before care seats) i twisted my moms hair. so my mother relaxed and stopped letting it bother her. i know many peole today who twist their hair and i am one of them...yes i never stopped!!!! i love the way it feels andit is relaxing and i notice when i have a very stressful day i twist my hair while going to sleep. i am now 66 yrs old!!! i have been grateful to my mom my whole life for not making a big deal out of it and making me a nervous wreck. oh and by the way
i have donated my hair every two years now for 17 years
to locks of love... you have to cut off 13 inches at a time
so as you can see i am not bald from twisting..
my advice is just let her alone and let her be a happy child.
It sounds like she needs some sort of stimulus to relax. Ask your pediatrician about occupational therapy for this.
Sometimes kids just need to do a repetitive motion to relax and sleep.
Try a "lovie" or blanket with tabs that she can fiddle with and put it on that side of her head when she sleeps. My son has a doggie blanket from Redenvelope.com that has a stuffed dog head and the rest of his body is a little blanket. He twirls the dogs ears when he is trying to fall asleep. My daughter twirled both hers and my hair as a toddler, but she eventually grew out of it; she just sort of stopped.
Maybe try getting a small brace (like for sprained wrists) and putting it on her. This way she can still get her fingers in her hair but not have as much twirly action with her wrist. You can also take her to an orthodontist and look into having a brace installed to discourage thumb sucking. Since they are intertwined together. It seems a bit drastic, but from what your describing it's becoming a bit extreme.
Hi
Maybe take her shopping to find a brand-new blanket that has silky edging that she can feel with her fingers when she's sleepy. She's just pacifying herself by doing the finger sucking and hair twisting. So if you can distract her with something else like the new blanket to carry around and probably a pacifier would have been good instead of fingers. But she'll outgrow all of it in time. I understand we like our girls to have long pretty hair. Create a chart on the wall that she can put stars on as each day she doesn't twist her hair, as rewards. And on Sat take her shopping for a prize if she gets 6-7stars for the week. Good luck
I had dealt with this same issue. This is the only thing out there that helped.
www.etsy.com/listing/102415930/lovey-locks
get some greasy lotion to put into her hair,co she can't get a grip on it or maybe a funny halloween wig.
Just cut her hair very short
It sounds as though your daughter may have developed this habit when she was anxious about the birth of your next child. As we all know habits are hard to break. Maybe you should ask her pediatrician about this. Have you tried putting mittens on her hands at night?
