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Son hits head on the floor when upset...any advice?

Stacy - posted on 08/03/2009 ( 14 moms have responded )

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My son is 15 months old and it feels like the terrible two's have come early. He throws fits multiple times a day. It doesn't take much to set him off; a simple "no", diaper changes, or even making him come inside after playing in the yard. These fits usually start with a scream and then he bends over and hits he head on the ground/floor (only once, not over and over) I'm surprised he hasn't knocked himself out yet. He does the same thing when he is in his crib in the middle of the night and is upset because he can't find his binky, except he hits is head off the side of the crib instead of the floor. Has anyone experienced anything similar to this? What did you do? I don't want to reinforce this by giving him attention when he throws these fits, but I also don't want him to hurt himself.

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14 Comments

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Nicole - posted on 05/30/2012

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my 23month old does that too, sometimes just once some times over and over until it "hurts" i usually dont pick her up when she does it , im not quite sure how to get her to stop either so if you or anyone knows a good idea i could use it too

Neilie - posted on 10/04/2010

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My son is doing this too, it is so upsetting. Has your son bruised himself. My son has three bruises across his forehead one with a scrape on top because he chose the cement as a target one day. I am glad that we are not alone.

Mel - posted on 06/23/2010

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My little man started head butting all sorts of things, seemed to be out of frustration and he still occasionally does it now. One kind lady told me it was because he was going to be intelligent when he grows up...bless her..

Erica - posted on 06/22/2010

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Wow..it is so helpful to read these stories. My daughter fell off of the bed and bumped her head and had a huge bump. IT MADE ME SO SCARED. I began to cry. Im happy to see that parents have experience the same things or close to what I have. THANK YOU!!!

Bree - posted on 06/22/2010

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It's attention seeking. Two of my boy's did it one still is (3yr old), i would quietly without him kmowing just watch to make sure they didnt hurt themselves but to him look like i was ignoring him. The eldest now 5 never hurt himself other then a bruise or two but the 3yr old has hit his head in the wrong spot and split eyebrow open a couple of times. In thoes cases I have just cleaned him up done what ever needed to be done band-aid or dr trip without mentioning the tantrum or giving him too much sympanthy. He will soon grow out of it.

Dikeledi - posted on 06/22/2010

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just ignore him

Danielle - posted on 06/21/2010

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My 18 month old started doing this also and when i asked the dr about it he said to just walk out of the room when he starts to throw these tantrums...eventually he will learn that it is getting him nowhere. BUT still it is hard not to react especially when he is hitting his head hard enough to make himself cry.

Alexis - posted on 08/05/2009

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Ahh! My daughter is doing that too and I haven't been able to figure out why. We have a son who is 4 and NEVER did this. We've been frustrated by it but hoping she will grow out of this and everyone we talk to about it looks at us like we are crazy cause they've never heard of a kid doing that.

Ciara - posted on 08/05/2009

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My 20 1/2 month old son likes to slap himself when he gets angry.. I hope he gets over that soon!

Krista - posted on 08/05/2009

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If it hurts, he'll stop. That's all there is to it. He's doing it because he knows you'll react and he'll get his way.

Deborah - posted on 08/04/2009

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Don't worry about him hurting himself. Kids are a lot more resilient than we tend to think. My mom said that when I was a toddler I leaned over the playpin and fell out straight onto my head just to see what would happen. Didnt even cry. My child has fallen on her head a couple of times and scared me to death. One time enough to make me take her to the emergency room. She was fine. If yours is smacking his own head against the floor or the crib - its not going to be hard enough to do any real damage. He'll eventually figure out - hey! that hurts, and mom doesnt seem to be bothered by it. Wala! no more head pounding!

Colby - posted on 08/04/2009

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My son did the same thing, only he would bang his head on anything, the wall, the cabinet, the floor... usually ended up crying, I felt bad for him but instead of picking him up or letting him get his way, we would let him cry. When he learned he couldn't use this method to get his way he quit doing it.

Colby - posted on 08/04/2009

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My son did the same thing, only he would bang his head on anything, the wall, the cabinet, the floor... usually ended up crying, I felt bad for him but instead of picking him up or letting him get his way, we would let him cry. When he learned he couldn't use this method to get his way he quit doing it.

Colby - posted on 08/04/2009

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My son did the same thing, only he would bang his head on anything, the wall, the cabinet, the floor... usually ended up crying, I felt bad for him but instead of picking him up or letting him get his way, we would let him cry. When he learned he couldn't use this method to get his way he quit doing it.

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