My son is 3yrs old and hits his head against the wall to soothe himself, what should I do?

Question

My son is 3yrs old and hits his head against the wall to soothe himself, what should I do?

Answer 1

'they' say as long as he is not really hurting himself, it is likely a phase that may pass.  My daughter is 2.5 and she has hit her head on walls since she was young.  Never very hard, but when she gets really upset or frustrated, she might do this.  i notice that when i pay more attention to it, it gets worse.  i think its scarier for us than them!  i would say watch for a pattern and definitely mention it to the doctor on the next visit

Answer 2

My 19 month old daughter has head banged pretty much since she was born! She would do it against her crib rails...my husband and I had to move her crib from the wall, when we switched her to a toddler bed she continued to head bang. I spoke to her pediatrician about it and he reassured me it was normal behavior and not to stress out over it, as long as she wasn't physically harming herself....then he said need not worry. So I'm thinking that it is normal and I'm taking the "this too shall pass" attitude toward it.

Answer 3

Talk to your son's Dr. my son does the same thing, and he also has some adhd like symptoms where he needs constant sensory input.  Whether it is visual, or with noise like a loud TV, or my son likes to hangup side down a lot and he can get hurt and cry for like 30 seconds, he also gets frustrated very easily.  All because he needs that sensory input, and hitting his head is soothing.  If this sounds like you son read the book, out of sync also they are 3 different type of sensory delays.

Answer 4

go to a doctor

Answer 5

Have you talked to your pediatrician?  This isn't normal behavior.  He could have an infection and that is how he is able to feel better or there is psychological problems.  Either way, it needs to be treated.

Answer 6

My brother (who is 34 now) did this for years. So much so, that he actually broke the legs off one of our couches. Honest to god!! The doctor said it was just his way of releasing energy. I would not worry about it, as long as he is not hurting himself--which I am assuming he is not since it is soothing him. They all have their little quirks.

Answer 7

LOL.....erm make him stop/