My Toddler Is Pulling Her Hair Out.

Hi A.,

I had a friend who's daughter did the same thing at the same age, only she would do it at night. They put those small stretchy type gloves on her hands when she went to bed because she was unable to pull her hair out with them. Then she got over it- it only took a few weeks I think. Might be worth trying the gloves before you cut her hair or anything. I read the others that say it is a disorder and it may very well be- but it could also be a phase.

Hi there! I have 2 year old twin girls, and one of them did the same thing-but she never sucked her thumb. There is a special disorder-the hair pulling disorder, and the doctors think that's what she has. By the time we took her to the doctor, she had a bald spot behind her ear. The easiest solution-cut all her hair off so that she can't pull it out anymore. It was really hard to do at first, but it's alot easier than therapy and medications. As long as it's short, then she doesn't pull it at all. Now, I love her with short hair, and we left her sisters long-so they really are two different people. Good luck with this-hopefully you can find a solution.

I had to laugh a little. My little girl pulled her hair out and tasted it several times between 6-10 months. She'll still yank on it here and there (she's 2).
I don't think it's much to worry about, it is her own hair and I think trying to MAKE her stop will only turn the situation into a power struggle...and I would imagine that time with her is better spent enjoying each other instead of struggling. Eventually she'll figure out it hurts, and stop, no?

p.s. I also like the doll idea.

have you tried giving her a doll with silky hair she can play with, especially when she's sleepy?

I also did this as a child. I went from bitting my finger nails to pulling my hair. I would be watching TV and my mom would come into the room and freek. I would look at the floor and see a ball of hair (my hair) on the floor. I was shocked. It happened all the time. She finally cut my hair short (like a granny hair cut)...short and feathered all the way around. This showed my bald spots. I was about 7-8 years old. I went to school and got made fun of...it was awful, but I quit doing it. I had my mom help, I was not allowed to be bored, or I would find something to do with my fingers. It took me about 1 year to break the habit.
Keep her hands busy. Try gloves! It is hard with her being so tiny as she probably doesn't understand what she is doing. If it is a medical disorder, your doctor would be able to help give you ideas! good luck

Hello! I am 30 and have been suffering from Trech, the hair pulling disorder since I was little. There is really nothing to do. it is a disorder. Don't cut her hair off, it will just grow in and she'll do it again. One thing my mother used to do was vaseline on my finger tips. Pull it up if it is long enough, when she does it, remind her not to do it. It will be something she will have to deal with for her whole life. It varries from person to person, the severity of it. Hopefully, she won't be to bad. You just need to support her as she gets older, it's a hard disorder to have. My 9 month old has started doing it, I hoped that my kids wouldn't have it, but she may. Does any one on either side of your family have it? My grama does, she says she dosn't, but she does. Some doctors say that it is herititery (sp?) and some say not. Who knows. Anyhow, I wish you the best. It's a tough road.

I have a little boy that literally pulls his hair out also. He did it ever since he was little and is 9 years old now and still does it. We have tried everything but I have heard that it is a OCD perfectionist thing or that they are just bored and I need to occupy his hands elsewhere. I feel for you cause we are going through it also! We even shaved his head and when it grew back he did it again and I am sure you don't want to shave her head. But if you find out a good solution let me know too.

Hi A.,
Go to http://www.trich.org/index.asp
My husband is a psychology professor at USU and has done a lot of work with both kids and adults who pull their hair out.
I talked to him after I read your note and he said to look at the tlc website (at the top of this note) or you could call the clinic at USU. There are two professors who specialize in pulling hair out. He also said it is usually pretty easy to correct with a person who has just started.
Good luck!
K.
hi again...here is the number for the USU psychology community clinic ###-###-####. It is a sliding scale clinic. My husband, who wrote a book on Trichotillomania (see link below, but it is a trich book for adults), would recommend talking to a professional because there are a lot of reasons she may be pulling and it would probably be best to get treatment that is trailered to why she is pulling. An example he just gave me is if a person wants to lose weight he/she needs to figure out the best way for him/her to loose the weight...one person may need to add more exercise, another person may need to change their diet, or someone may have a thyroid problem. Am I making sense?
Anyway, I really hope this helps at least give you a place to start.
Here is the link to his Trich book:
http://www.amazon.com/Trichotillomania-ACT-enhanced-Behav...

our daughter did this also, she is now 3 1/2 and we finally tried not paying one bit of attention to her when she did it and it stopped being fun for her....if you react we found that she will do it again to get your attention. so ignoring it or when she brings you a bunch say caa caa that goes in the trash and make her go to trash can and help you throw it away. Simply stating hair stays on the head....helped her understand dont pull it out. but ultimatey ignoring her worked for us

My best friend when I was growing up had (and still has) this disorder. It is a medical disorder, but the latest information I read was that there are medications available. If that's not a route you want to go (and I'm not sure if I'd want to do that for a toddler), one of my friends made her daughter wear and little knit cap all the time, even to bed. I believe that took about a month or two to work.

Good luck!

is she "really" pulling her hair out or is she just playing w it so much that it's starting to fall out?

is her hair long enough to pull back? If so maybe you can just pull her hair up in a pony tail or pig tails. If you decide to try this, I have found that when I'm fixing my daughter's (20 months) hair that I have to do it while she's sitting in her highchair and busy eating or make it part of her bath/bed time rutine.

If she's just playing w it to the point that it's falling out maybe she'll take to a "blankie" or something instead. My lil girl has her "Ellie" it's one of thos blankie type toys and it has a "silky" type edge that she loves to rub on her cheek. Or you could try a baby doll w "hair", maybe she'd take to playing w the doll's hair.

If she's "pulling" pulling it out then I don't know.

(my bath/bed time goes like this; first I get every thing that I'll need on the couch or floor [where ever it is that I'm going to sit down w her] and I have to kinda "hide" her Ellie [her favorite-go-every-where-with-her toy] Then we "go to the bubbles". When I pull her out and wrap her up I'll go sit down. Turn on Noggin or Sprout on the tv. Then I spray the detangler(sp?) in her hair, then I lotoin her, clean ears, clip nails, comb hair and if she doesn't have her Ellie by this point I'll give it to her while I fix her hair. Between Ellie and cartoons she almost always sits really still for me. I have found that if I put some moose in her hair then her pig tails will stay up for 2 or 3 days.)

My daughter sucked her thumb and pulled on her hair also. She is twelve now and doesn't pull on it anymore. When she was little I would remind her not to pull on it. Before bed we would put a hat on her. A pretty black velvet one with a bow. It was just a habit or a comfort thing. She would play with my hair if I was near her too. My daughter didn't stop playing with her hair all together until she was about 7. Habits are hard to break. I still can't get my 14 year old to stop biting his nails. Be careful, it seems there is a drug for everything these days. Scary!! One of these days biting your nails will be a disorder and people will be druged for it.

T. :o)