Head-Banging

I'm starting to get really worried about my 14 month old son, he's a happy, fun wee boy but when I firmly say no to him he deliberately bangs his head hard on the floor, yesterday he bruised himself, I don't shout, I'm on my hands and knees when I say no to him, I refuse to go to his doctor as I don't trust the service that I have, but I'm extremely worried about this behaviour, has anyone got any advice?

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ThirzaAsh
Reply ThirzaAsh 4 months ago
This is far more common than many people think and boys are far more inclined to do it than girls! Your son is at the most likely age for this to start and he should grow out of it. There is a very good article on Gurgle about head banging which was posted on the 20th January – lots of very sound advice but basically there are two things you can try. The first is to ignore it. He is very unlikely to do himself any harm and drawing attention to what he is doing may well may it worse. The other is to be ready to distract him as you know that saying no to him is the trigger for these episodes. At 14 months he is too young to understand choices (“you can’t do that but you can do this or this – you choose!”) but if he is doing something you don’t wish him to do give him something else to do before saying no. If the episodes get worse and he is bruising himself a lot then do discuss it with your GP.
Mayakesh
Reply Mayakesh 4 months ago
I'm starting to get really worried about my 14 month old son, he's a happy, fun wee boy but when I firmly say no to him he deliberately bangs his head hard on the floor, yesterday he bruised himself, I don't shout, I'm on my hands and knees when I say no to him, I refuse to go to his doctor as I don't trust the service that I have, but I'm extremely worried about this behaviour, has anyone got any advice?
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