22 month old banging his head

Hi All -

I guess I am just looking for others that may have experienced this...

My son is 22 months. He is a normally very well behaved little boy with no issues except for delayed expressive speech.

Yet it seems when he is upset, whether because you tell him No, or don let him have something (typically toddler stuff) instead of just crying, he runs to the wall and bangs his head. sometimes just once and sometimes multiple times. He of course then cries more because he hurt himself. He now does it at bed time because he obviously doesnt want to go to sleep, so he will bang his head on the wood crib, crying and banging over and over..i of course then go in and console him because I dont want him to injure himself. I have to sit in the chair until he falls alseep. This has turned into terrible sleeping habits because everytime he wakes in the middle of the night he cries and bangs his head until I come in. I often will just bring him in my bed because I am exhausted and my husband and I both work.

I am an advocate of crying it out and did it a while back, but this is when he didnt bang his head. He STTN for a long time and then all of a sudden he started waking and banging...

From what I have read, toddler head banging is normal yet is more common in boys...it says they truely wont hurt themselves because they know their pain threshold an the banging is often a means of calming themselves (which doesnt make any sense to me).

There are things that relate head banging to autism yet in conjunction with other behaviors. I did have him evaluated for speech by the county about a month ago and they did an overall evaluation and concluded that he is normal and didnt qualify for any services. So I dont think this is an issue of any other underlying issues.

Yet I just dont know what to do about it...everything i read and am told by the doctor is to just ignore the behavior and just try and distract him in a postive way when he does it. That is fine..but how can i ignore him banging his head in the crib at bedtime and the throughout the night???? That just seems crazy even if he technically wont "hurt" himself.

UGH! Any means of support and advice would be greatly appreciated!!! I need him to STTN again!

Re: 22 month old banging his head

While it can be a sign of autism, my DS used to do it (I forget which age) & he's fine.

I read somewhere that when he gets into it, don't console him, just move him to a softer spot (like to a carpeted area). I'd put bumpers around the crib (he's far out of the age range for SIDS).

Fortunately, it was a short stage for us.

22 month old banging his head

My DS went through a phase where he did this. He was slightly delayed in speech so I truly think it was a frustration issue. Like you, I was concerned about him hurting himself. Eventually he started talking more and outgrew it. I would say by 2 1/2 he had totally stopped. It's hard to sit and watch them do that to themselves and not intervene. But I found trying to stop it made it worse. If he's not really hurting himself, I would try and just move him to a safer spot until the moment has passed. I know it's hard, but it is most likely just a phase that he will grow out of. Hang in there!

22 month old banging his head

My DD started the crib banging and DH stays in her room until she falls asleep. Since we rushed in to stop her when she started doing it, she knows it gets attention. We didn't do CIO and I can't let her bang her head either. I think she will grow out of it.

Re: 22 month old banging his head

Thank you everyone for the replies...makes me feel better that others have experienced this too and there is hope that he may grow out of it soon :)

Re: 22 month old banging his head

My son just turned 2 and does the same thing. He is speech delayed and receives speech services. No one has mentioned anything about autisim. What the doctor and therapists say it is his way of dealing with the frustration of being unable to express himself.

For at night I can't let him cry it out and hear him banging his head. When he does start in the middle of the night I go in there and firmly tell him to lay down and give him his lovey. Sometimes I have to go in a few times but usually its just the once. He understands what I am telling him.

I also don't ignore it during the day. I tell him to stop and try to find out what he is wanting or needing help with just bc I've learned that is what he's trying to tell me.

Re: 22 month old banging his head

My dd (who was language delayed) went though the same thing from about 18-22 mos. The peds said not to worry, she won't hurt herself. I didn't believe it either, but the truth is that she did not hurt herself. She did qualify for ei, and it was a great help. When your ds turns 2, have him re-evaluated because at 2, they can also consider therapist judgment.

Re: 22 month old banging his head

Not in the crib but, when my DS was a little bit younger than this he went through a phase where he would whack his head on the ground whenever he was angry. I probably even posted about it back then I was so concerned. I asked the ped and he said to ignore it and it would go away. This seemed impossible because I was afraid he would give himself a concussion! But, it did go away - not long after it started and, to ease your mind he is now a thriving 7 yr old - perfect and excelling in every way! So no worried!

22 month old banging his head

My DS is 27 and used to run to the wall and bang him head or as he was sitting in his highchair he would bang his head backwards but once he realized it hurt he stopped going into the wall. Still does the high chair when he is frustrated. I never heard anything about autism. Many children do this since they do not know how to get their frustration out. He will grow out of it i wouldnt worry too much!

Re: 22 month old banging his head

My son banged his head on the floor and also had - still has a significant speech delay - not autistic. He did this for about a year. We tried to redirect him.