11 1/2 month old banging head on cot before sleep....

[em_here]

Abbi is 11 1/2 months old and recently she has been crouching on all 4's before sleep and headbutting the top of the cot repeatedly! I heard it downstairs, and went up and thats what she was doing, mantra crying, headbutting away whilst sucking her dummy. Seems a very odd and downright painful soothing method dont you think??!?!?

Anyone else had this? What did they do, did it stop quickly?  I keep thinking well, surely she will realise it hurts and then stop very soon cause of that, but shes still doing it.  It doesnt matter whether she is OT or not, she still does it, although not at night, just for naps. As I said I am sure it is developemental but just wondered if others had experienced it

Thanks as always 

[trisharushbrook]

One of my girls did this for a while but there wasn't much regularity to it.  She would actually sit up in the cot and bang the back of her head at the bars or the end....freaked me out initially but then it just sort of stopped after a couple of wks.   She never did bang it real hard - I watched her one time without her knowing and it was almost as if she was just testing the sensation as she would start of softly and then it would do it with more force.   I haven't heard it in a while - she still bangs her head but not intentionally - for some reason, every night, she manages to make her way to either end of the cot so when she wakes up she probably feels trapped and thrashes around a bit and eventually cries.  I put this down to a discovery phase but sounds like your lo is doing it more regularly than mine...  My lO was 11mths too when this happened so hopefully your LO will lose interest in it soon enough.

[em_here]

Thank you for the reassurance, I just wish she didnt do it so hard!!!! Will hold out and hope it passes! Thanks again x

[Layla]

Emma, found this on the internet:

WHAT IS HEADBANGING AND BODYROCKING?
Headbanging and bodyrocking are officially called rhythmic movement disorders. Rhythmic movement disorder usually involves some type of rocking, rolling, or
headbanging. Oddly, children find this a soothing way to fall asleep. Your child probably does this most times that he is falling asleep, whether at naptime or
bedtime. Furthermore, given that all children naturally wake frequently during the night, your child will need to headbang (or rock) to put himself back to sleep in
the middle of the night. So, don’t be surprised that this behavior occurs not only at bedtime but throughout the night.

SHOULD YOU BE CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR CHILD’S HEADBANGING OR BODYROCKING?
For almost all children, headbanging or bodyrocking is of no concern. It is a common way to fall asleep. There are some children for whom it may be of
concern, though. Some children with other issues, such as developmental delay, autism, or blindness, will rock or bang their heads, and may hurt themselves.
This type of behavior is substantially different and will occur both throughout the day and at night. If your child is normal and healthy during the day and only bangs his head to fall asleep, you should not be concerned. Also, if your child has a neurological or psychiatric problem, you will likely be aware of it from his behavior during the day.

HOW SHOULD YOU RESPOND TO YOUR CHILD’S HEADBANGING OR BODYROCKING?
There is nothing much that you need to do if your child headbangs or rocks himself to sleep. Children often rock or bang their heads to fall asleep. This is
normal. Most will eventually stop by 4 years of age. In the meantime, there are some things to consider:
• Don’t worry about trying to protect your child. Even if your child is banging his head hard, it is unlikely that he will hurt himself. Thus, there is no need to put
extra bumpers on the crib or place pillows in strategic places. Also, it rarely works. Most children will find a way to bang their heads, no matter what creative
tricks you try.
• Be careful not to reinforce the headbanging. If you go in to your child every time he starts to rock or bang his head, you may be reinforcing his behavior
without even realizing it. In this case, he may be headbanging to get your attention. Make sure that your child gets lots of attention during the day and
ignore his headbanging at night.
• Move the crib or bed. Move the crib or the bed away from the wall if the banging or rocking is making noise and keeping the rest of the family awake. If
your child is in a bed rather than a crib, put guardrails on all sides so he won’t fall out of bed. If our child is making his crib or bed squeak, oil the screws and bolts.
• Ensure your child’s safety. Be sure to tighten all screws and bolts on your child’s crib or bed on a regular basis, as the rocking or headbanging can loosen
them.

hth
Layla

[Colin Macs Mom]

Just to add to that... Colin used to go stand under the kitchen table and bang his head (not hard) or stand at the back door (glass) and lean back to bang his head. His doctor said that sometimes kids do that as a way of experimenting with sound. He didn't do it too long and then just stopped one day.

[em_here]

Layla thats awesome info, thank you so much, she only does it at bedtime so thats good!

Thanks for the reassurance jess, hopefully it will stop on its own very soon! she has a bruise on her forehead today 

[Colin Macs Mom]

A bruise?! 

[em_here]

yep, she bruises so easily, its a bright blue shiner  she only has to gently knock her head to bruise (like her mummy) so the head smacking was gonna give one for sure