Head banging--the real thing

[Pink Fairy]

I like to joke about banging my head on the wall in frustration, too, but---what if your child really is a head banger? He's been a head banger all along, but I thought that by 28 months he'd have grown out of it. He only does it in his crib (it's cocooned in pillows so it doesn't hurt him) and in his high chair.

 

Anyone have a story to share so I don't have to worry? Or should I worry? :001_huh:

[Dana]

According to my mother, I quit when I whacked my head on concrete. She said she got her hand barely under my head but I still gave myself a hard enough whack that I finally stopped. :D

[Starr]

My brother banged his head for years. I wouldn't be surprised if he still did it occasionally. :D We were always careful about putting him on the floor to sleep.

[5LittleMonkeys]

My 3 1\2 son just stopped banging his head on the back of his crib about 4 months ago when we switched him to a big boy bed. He still does it when he is tired either bouncing the back of his head on the mattress or his forehead on the mattress. He did it so badly when he was littler that he actually had a bruise on the back of his head for almost a year. I had to strap pillows all over his crib. I have researched this on the internet and talked to 3 different pediatricians and the consensus is that they will slowly grow out of it. It is a coping\comfort mechanism. :confused: Yeah, because banging my head to just shy of unconsciousness always makes me feel better.

[specialmama]

ummm.... how is this child progessing otherwise? Meeting all the milestones? My son did that, along with what is called "nightime euphoria" where he laughed hysterically all hours of the night. He also jumped EXCESSIVELY... like for 4 hours at a time in his crib. Does he point to show you things? Respond to his name? Does he seem like he is "too good" of a baby? Content to be alone? Many symptoms, but not all point to something. My son does have special needs by the way. But honestly, the best thing to do is to be aware, don't put your head in the sand because IF he has special needs, then the best outcomes are a result of mama knowing SOONER rather than denying it. Mention it to your ped.

 

I really don't want to alarm you, because I love my boy and wouldn't change him for anything... except maybe for the assurance to know he'd make it as a somewhat independant adult... autism is on the rise... and head banging *may* be an early onset symptom. Just be aware, mama, as you are by posting this. :grouphug:

[catalinakel]

My daughter has rolled her head back and forth vigorously to put herself to sleep for years and years. She has also been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. I don't know if head banging is a problem or not. I see my daughter's head rolling as her way of working with her particular brain wiring to get herself to sleep...not scientific at all..just mommy stuff.

[Pink Fairy]

Well, my boy has a few other quirks. He exhibits some early signs of OCD, which we are are working on (desensitizing). He also receives speech therapy for a delay. In every other way he's just like his brothers and sisters--loving, friendly, playful, smart--truly a delight. But I am very open to the possibility that he may have a disability. I had a complicated pregnancy with him, and he was not expected to survive at all, let alone thrive like he has. So I won't be completely surprised if these quirks turn out to be something.

[Pink Fairy]

I have researched this on the internet and talked to 3 different pediatricians and the consensus is that they will slowly grow out of it. It is a coping\comfort mechanism. :confused: Yeah, because banging my head to just shy of unconsciousness always makes me feel better.

 

I said the same exact thing to my dh after reading online that it's a comfort mechanism. Yeah, real comforting--kinda like sticking a fork in my eye always makes me feel good.

[Sunkirst]

My middle dd was/is a head-banger. It started very young and was almost always associated with fatigue or discomfort of some sort. At around 4 years of age I was able to convince her to roll her head back and forth to help her "deal" with things so that she wold stop banging. She still rolls her head to fall asleep or block things out.

 

She is perfectly normal in her intelligence and social abilities. She just seems to have a higher than average need to block out unpleasant stimuli.

[Lolly]

My brother was one. He is very normal. Well, other than being extremely intelligent and a super athlete. He is a great guy who I am happy to claim as family.

[BMW]

My youngest did this from 4 months on. He has sensory integration disorder and aspergers. He is very intelligent and the sunshine of many days!! Because he had eye contact and connected with each of his family members, the Dr. refused to diagnose him and said that he was "self stimming" and would grow out of it. Nope. Mine banged so much that I held him at night for a couple of years. Our next pediatrician diagnosed him accurately. Of course there are many stories of little ones doing this... with all sorts of endings... Just stay in tune to your little one.

[LauraGB]

Well, other than being extremely intelligent and a super athlete.

It is interesting that you bring this up. While I don't personally have any experience with this with my own kids, just last week alone, in three different conversations with three different people, this exact same thing came up. And in all three conversations, the end result was the same: scary smart, emotionally sensitive/intuitive, interestingly refreshing and different adults had this same thing going on as babies.

 

As a mom, I would explore all the possibilites. But unless you feel it is something debilitating, I would hold off any big plans until the child grows bigger. Oh, and I'd protect your ds's head as best I could ;).

[asta]

Perseverations are internal coping mechanisms to deal with perceived outside stressors.

 

One normally associates them with people on the autistic spectrum (head banging, hand flicking, flapping, walking in circles, rocking, etc.), but lots of people actually do them, if you look.

 

It's one of those things that, once your eyes are open to it, you see everywhere. Like people chomping their nails or twirling their hair. Just because *I* don't perceive a situation as stressful doesn't mean someone *else* isn't intensely stressed by the same situation.

 

HTH

 

a

[KatieJ]

What about a baby who kicks his legs in his crib..over and over again.

Is this is in the categorgy as head banging?

[nono]

Yep, head banging can be the sign of a sensory seeker -- within Sensory Processing Disorder. My younger is possibly one. He did grow out of the head banging and now exhibits some of the touch sensory seeking checklist. I ran across a great notion in the book Sensational Kids, which basically said that a boy like this in olden times was such a prize and turned into such a man's man. I liked that framing of the issue, and echoes some other posters' comments here.

 

Anyway, that book was very helpful to me in trying to determine what I might be looking at, has given me something concrete to talk about with our pediatrician when his check up comes at the new year, and gave me some hints on how to teach him in the meantime.

[tdeveson]

I like to joke about banging my head on the wall in frustration, too, but---what if your child really is a head banger? He's been a head banger all along, but I thought that by 28 months he'd have grown out of it. He only does it in his crib (it's cocooned in pillows so it doesn't hurt him) and in his high chair. :001_huh:

 

My ds started banging his head when he was around two. Like your little one, he'd do it on the couch or against pillows and cushions. One day he got very angry and cracked his head really hard against the metal frame on the sliding glass door. Never did it again. :D

[MeAndTheBoys]

It's funny--my son on the autistic spectrum never banged his head; my stubborn, strong-willed second son was my head banger. He has a VERY hard head and was always getting knots on his head; he seemed to like banging it against the garage door, certain floors--I guess he just liked the way it felt.

 

I would say he stopped doing it around 4--still likes to knock things that make interesting sounds (garage door occasionally).

 

It's a sensory thing, I'm sure--he's the one who likes to be held the most, who rubs thing the most-- Like pp's said, be aware of other signs, but know also it could just be something he finds interesting---

 

Betsy

[Whereneverever]

My child did that, along with other stim behaviors related to her ASD. Is he on track otherwise?

If it's not that, he should grow out of it without really hurting himself.

[HeatherInWI]

I had one like that -- wore a helmet until he developed self-control and until we figured out the eliminating artificial food colorings/flavorings/ingredients does a lot toward self-control.

 

No autism, Asperger's, etc. -- just a weird quirk in our case.

 

He's now a well-adjusted teenager and hasn't head-banged since preschool age.

[Wyndie]

My friends son was a major head banger until she removed gluten from his diet. Never did it again after that.

 

Another friend of mine has a 40 year old son in a group home for autism. He was also a head banger so I mentioned the above story to her and she had them remove gluten from his diet as well. He also stopped banging his head.

 

I would look into foods, it's an easy thing to try and might fix an uncomfortable problem going on in his head.

[vkay]

He only does it in his crib (it's cocooned in pillows so it doesn't hurt him) and in his high chair.

 

Anyone have a story to share so I don't have to worry? Or should I worry? :001_huh:

I had one like this. It stopped when he finally tried it somewhere that wasn't safe. He was sitting on the kitchen floor, got angry about something and purposely hit his head on the floor. Of course he wailed up a storm, but the very next time I saw him get angry and go to hit his head..... he stopped about an inch from the floor. LOL Poor little guy had remembered what happened the last time he tried that. He never did it again. :D

[Pink Fairy]

Thanks everyone. Your replies have been really helpful. I love the hive! :001_wub:

[az_momy]

Growing up, I hated spending the night with my best friend because her little sister would bang her head all night until she just collapsed from exhaustion. She grew up to be normal (whatever that is ;).

 

Having said that, I have a child who required a LOT of sensory input and the book that really showed me how to meet those needs in a more effective manner is called The Out of Sync Child (Carol Kranowitz?). If you can get your hands on a copy of this early on in his development, you may be able to nip it in the bud and see early warning signs of other sensory-seeking behaviors.

 

Blessings to you,

[MamaCass]

I was a headbanger as a child I think I was about 5 or six when I stopped and learned to rock side to side to fall asleep. I still rock myself to sleep. To me it is very soothing and normal lol why dosen't everyone bang there head??

[AndyJoy]

I used to babysit a boy who was a headbanger. At age 5, his parents came up with the solution of letting him rock himself to sleep in the living room armchair, then they'd carry him to bed later. His "rocking" was basically violently throwing himself back and forth in the chair so that it rocked and he bounced forward and backward. It worked well for him, and it got to the point where he would rock himself for 30 min. then go get into bed and sleep, rather than needing to be carried after falling asleep in the chair.

[asta]

One thing to remember is that, while head banging in particular can be dangerous (duh), perseveration has a purpose: it is the way the brain processes sensory input. Everyone does it, it's just that not everyone does it in a manner that is noticeable in an external manner.

 

Think about it: when there are lots of flashy lights, our eyes move and blink. That is our eyes processing the light. When there is noise, we turn our heads and cock our ears. If there is a melodic beat, sometimes we move to it in a dancing manner.

 

If you happen to be a person who is very sensitive to sensory inputs (that sounds redundant...), then pretty much all of the "normal" stuff in the world - sound, touch, sight, taste - will be overwhelming. And you will try to compensate somehow. It is no different than going "ow! ow! ow!" and shaking your hand violently after accidentally touching something hot - a person who is sensory "sensitive" is essentially going "ow! ow! ow!" to something that doesn't even ping on most people's radar.

 

I don't know if that makes any sense.

 

 

a