Headbutting

[cheesespread]

My 16 month DS has started headbutting things,if he s told no for any reason like no dont touch the TV or the dogs biscuits Etc, he ll headbutt the nearest thing like the floor doors or me !

has anyone else had there DC do this before and how did you deal with it im worried he s going to really hurt himself,he also does it in his highchair when eating he bangs the back of his head on the chair

any help would be appreciated x

Hi. Yes! My dd used to do it she now reserves it just for nursery, were advised by HV, pead, and portage just to let her do it. It took a few months (dd is very determined) before she stopped doing it.

My hv gave the same advice - completely ignore it (so hard I know! Especially in public..). She wisely pointed out at this age they wouldn't deliberately do it if it really hurt but it's a fab attention seeker.

Ds did it, we ignored it, he eventually stopped. If you watched closely he'd swing his head back really dramatically and then go flying towards the floor / cupboard etc but actually slow down just before impact!

Thanks for the advice !

i told my mum when she s lookin after him while im at work just to ignore as i thought if he did hurt himself he wouldnt do it again,she said she ignored him he did it hurt himself and cried then did it again 5 mins later

he s never done it that hard in our house to make himself cry,ill keep on trying to ignore it as sometimes i cant help myself from trying to stop him

What did she do when he cried?

Do you have carpet or wood floors? I've just realised dd2 hasn't done it since we put wood floors down. Buy she used to repeatedly do it.
Also don't be tempted to put a cushion or something under his head when he does it because that turns it into a game. Try turning your back or leaving the room.
My dd only bruised herself once by doing it, and that was because she did it in the driveway.
Is it the fake cry? My dd saves her fake cry for times like this. (I know when she has hurt herself because it's a whole different sounding cry).

he's trying it on! Its not often I say that either, I am quite a wishy washy hippy cuddly etc parent but seriously, he is trying it on.

Yeah my ds2 was a proper headbanger. They grow out of it.
Ignore it by the way...they do it out of fury and for effect.

It's very common....you mustn't worry. xxx