Head banging on purpose

Lately when I put the girls to bed, not every night, but I'd say maybe 3-4 nights out of 7 I hear a loud banging. They usually go to sleep without any problems. Some nights they play for a little while before settling down and thats usually when I hear the banging. I thought it was them hitting the walls with their hands.
Today I heard it as I was getting them up from their naps, so I snuck the door open enough to see what was making the banging sound. It's Syani banging her head on the front part of her crib!
I've never seen a bruise there on her forehead where she's banging her head, so I assume she must not be doing it hard enough to hurt herself. I don't think Eve does it, at least I've not seen her yet.
Sy quit as soon as she had seen me and screamed in delight that I was there to rescue them outta their cribs.
She seems "normal" developmentally. She's hit all her suggested milestones and was walking at 11.5 mo, if that's significant. She's a bit shy around other people, would prefer to stay close to me but will warm up to someone new eventually.
I was curious if any one elses children do this and if I should be concerned about it? TIA

Well I did a search for head banging. Looks like it might be normal. Should have started there first. sorry for the repeat.....

 

Mine did it as a soothing technique for a while. They moved on to slamming their feet into the mattress (which they still do). Hopefully yours will grow out of it soon -- I know how alarming it is to see them do this.

 

My one SIL laughs about how she would do that as a child, and how when she got really stressed when she was first married, freaked her DH doing so once. She outgrew it (mostly) but it was a soothing thing. And she is the most normal of my 5 SIL's.

 

Both of my girls are doing it as well. They jsut turned 15 months this week. They are doing it on the fireplace glass. FREAKS me out!!! They look right at me when they do it to. They know theya re not suppose to do it, but i think they like the feeling and the sound. Hopefully it will pass sooner than later. I truly believe it is just a phase.
good luck!
jena

 

Yes, very normal. Mine went through a phase of doing this.

 

I hope so :lol:

Both the girls do it occasionally. They don't seem to be hurting themselves so I guess it is ok and it is usually when they are playing - not when they are upset.

 

My ds does it, but when he gets frustrated or angry. Yesterday, he was climbing something that didn't look very safe so I told him to get down. He did & I was so proud, but on the last step he slipped a little. Didn't hurt him, just scared him. He threw himself on the floor & hit his head on the carpet (thank goodness) 3 times! Hard enough to give a little bruise! I REALLY hope this is just a phase b/c I can't wait for him to grow out of it.

 

my boys started it when they started teething. they will bang their heads against the wall a few times, not for an extended peroid of time. they laugh at each other like its a game to them. i never tell them to stop it, that would make them want to do it all the more.

 

So glad to see the post. One of my twin grand-daughters has started doing it as well: that and shaking her head from sidej to side as fast as she can. Theya re 8 months. It is a relief to know she isnt the only one doing it.

 

Wow!
I'm glad to know I don't have the only set of wierdo twins! Thanks for all your comments, I enjoyed reading them all. Hopefully they'll grow out of it too.
EmilyM
that was funny about your SIL!

 

One of my sons bangs his head on everything, the crib, the floor, his brother... when he gets frustrated. It really scared me at first, but he seems to be outgrowing it after a month or two. I don't think they do it to the point where they hurt themselves. It's just a way to relax themselves, strange as that may be!

 

DS bangs his head when he throws a tantrum. It drives me nuts. They also bang their feet on the mattress at bedtime. I wouldn't worry about it too much, it sounds totally normal!

 

Nathan is a head banger, and Brandon is a foot kicker. Nathan bangs his head on his pillow as he goes to sleep and wakes up, but not during normal day activities. Brandon kicks his feet as he wakes up and when he throws a temper tantrum.

 

Regan bangs her head on the floor when she has a tantrum (which isn't good since we have stained concrete floors) and on her crib rail if she doesn't want to go to sleep. Our pedi says it is normal and that she has never had a patient due serious and/or lasting harm. We have never seen a bruise on her forehead and she acts normal otherwise.