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Behaviour/development

headbutting help!!

2 replies

youaintallthat · 13/05/2013 11:15

My 16 month old has recently started nursery and since starting there has started headbutting. If he falls or gets frustrated he immediately headbutts the floor or the wall or whatever is nearest to him he has also started headbutting me and his dad. We have tried saying no and giving him a time out but it doesn't seem to work because as soon as his time out is up he headbutts us immediately. We have tried just completely ignore him when he does it at which point he laughs and carries on headbutting the wall for ages until he gets bored of it and stops.
Today nursery have told me he headbutted one of the nursery assistants because she tried to pick him up while he was mid tantrum and has since been headbutting the walls all morning.
He started nursery about a month ago and didn't headbutt at all then but for the past two weeks he has been really distressed whenever he has been dropped off and the headbutting has started. He is otherwise such a lovely well behaved little boy and I think it's due to the stress of nursery i'm just trying to debate whether I should try a different nursery or childminder or is it just a phase?

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NeoMaxiZoomDweebie · 13/05/2013 11:28

How worrying...is he ok in other aspects at the moment? How is his language getting on? It sounds like frustration.

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youaintallthat · 13/05/2013 11:35

yeah he is otherwise fine he is walking, talking very sociable and loving with people he knows, though he is shy with new people. The staff at the nursery all seem really nice with him and for the first two weeks I was really relieved he settled in so well but since then the headbutting has started and he is hysterical every morning when I drop him off. I'm really unsure whether trying a childminder or another nursery will be even more distressing for him or whether he might be better somewhere smaller. Whenever I pick him up lately he won't even go in the car seat because he just wants to hug me when I finally get him in he headbutts it all the way home. It's really upsetting TBH I've phoned nursery from work in the day time and they do say he has settled down not long after me leaving (I hate leaving him when he is crying breaks my heart) but the headbutting continues all day and it does when we are at home too.

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