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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

8 Month Old Head Shaking

21 replies

MrsLTH · 20/12/2011 20:49

Hi all
My 8 month old has started shaking his head from side to side as if saying 'no'. I first noticed him doing it when I was feeding him is his high chair a couple of weeks ago and didnt really worry as I assumed it meant that he didnt want any more food. He has started to do it at oher times too, when he is playing or people are talking to him. This afternoon he seemed to be doing it every half an hour or so, sometimes more. I have been watching him more closely today and I am pretty (although not 100%) sure that it is voluntary. My DH started doing it back at him as a bit of a game and now my ds does it more when playing with him and definately mimics it immediately if someone does it first.
Does anyone have any experince of this. I did a bit of googling which is always a mistake and have worried myself thinking it might be linked to autism..
Thanks x

OP posts:

EllenandBump · 20/12/2011 21:19

My little boy who is 18months went through the exact same thing. It really is just a phase, he is now at the phase of waving goodbye to )

I hope this puts your mind at rest, but if you are worried do phone your health visitor. xx

Original poster

MrsLTH · 20/12/2011 21:23

Thanks for your response, I hope he is just doing it becuase he like the feel of it and he is exporing but I am a bit of a worrier. The fact he does it more with my dh than me is re-assuring in a way because my dh used to encourage him a little bit my making it a game until I told him to stop! Whereas I have never done it back at him.
x

OP posts:

dukeofpork · 20/12/2011 21:24

My ds did this too and it was just a phase!

EllenandBump · 20/12/2011 21:30

Wait until they get to the phase of wriggling themselves out of their sleeping bags and pyjamas!!! then you worry especially in this weather. My little terror i mean darling. x

pearlgirl · 20/12/2011 21:36

Ds4 did this too - he thought it was really funny and always giggled as he did it.

TCOB · 20/12/2011 21:37

DD did this too - I googled recklessly - then finally searched 'head-shaking' on here and got lots of reassurance. It turned into a game with DD and I was actually quite sad when she stopped. She is 18 mos now and her 'no's' are not cute in the slightest - 0 to 60 in one second .

Fuzzywood · 20/12/2011 21:39

DS (almost 11 months) still does this, think he finds it funny. I too worried about it until reading on here that loads of little ones do it. Sure it's just a phase.

Original poster

MrsLTH · 20/12/2011 21:41

Thanks so much, for some reason every time there is a new phase or challenge I worry that it is going to turn out there is something 'wrong' with him, I'm sure most new mums are the same. I havent really seen the head shaking thing before but then again I havent really known many other babies.
He is happy enough and seems to be developing well, just started pulling himself up this week so I think I need to chill out!

OP posts:

Ineedacleaneriamalazyslattern · 20/12/2011 21:42

All 3 of mine have done this about the same age, I think it is just a funny feeling and they have discovered something they can do that is a bit different.
ellen ah yes I remember those days with ds1. ds2 is 18 months this week and he has suddenly decided to become the local streaker. I popped out to the shops the other day and left him at home with dh and on the way back passed the living room window to drop something off at a friend 2 doors down and could see him standing there taking off his clothes for about the 50th time that day. I think he will be in dungarees for a while because he tried to pull of a dirty nappy the other morning

chillikat · 20/12/2011 22:16

My 9mo DD does the shakey head thing. I think she does it sometimes when she's tired. She once settled herself for a nap by doing it .

boredbuthappy · 20/12/2011 23:02

My 9 month old does this as well and it is definitely voluntary. He does it when he sees himself in the mirror especially. It is something he has learned to do and obviously likes it. If he sees myself or DH nod our heads up and down, DS will move his head side to side, hasn't worked out up and down. It's cute! Oh, and he also does this when h is faling asleep, must be a comfort/soothing thing. I googled it a lot as well when he first started doing it about 2 months ago, but it can be quite a normal thing babies do at this age.

Sparklyboots · 21/12/2011 00:34

Oh mine does this too - 11m now - and in an abstract sort of way, rather than a look into it sort of way, I have worried it was nerves, autism and more recently, a precursor to drug abuse (he enjoys being dizzy?). Glad to know it's common, just wanted to throw my hilarious fantasies into the mix.

hardboiledpossum · 21/12/2011 09:33

DS started doing this at around 4 months to settle himself to sleep. He is now 10 months and still does it, sometimes to say no and sometimes just for fun.

Ginismyfriend · 21/12/2011 11:15

Yup, mine too. She did it at a lot at the same age as yours, OP, and has now moved onto patting herself on the head at 16m so I think it's just an 'ooh, this feels funny' thing. She's being monitored for developmental delay due to problems at birth so I actually asked her consultant about it at the time and he told me to stop worrying - it's totally normal.

sarahloula · 21/12/2011 11:57

Ours has started doing that as well, at the same as her first tooth is cutting through, just a thought.

AngelsfromtherealmsofgloryDog · 22/12/2011 00:03

Yes, DS used to do this. He thought it was great fun, especially when we copied him. He did start to use it for 'no' a bit after a while.

He's not done it for months & months & months now though (just turning 2).

Flisspaps · 22/12/2011 00:06

DD did this and she and my mindee of a similar age found it HILARIOUS to spend their lunchtimes sitting in their seats shaking their heads at each other. It's a wonder anything got eaten.

ruthicles · 03/07/2022 09:24

I'm so pleased I found this thread, it's given me a lot of reassurance

Danielle1989x · 27/01/2023 20:43

@MrsLTH @AngelsfromtherealmsofgloryDog @EllenandBump @Flisspaps @Fuzzywood Hey. I know this is an old thread but my 9 month old has started doing this. He does respond to no no no and does it himself but sometimes he does it to my friends who talk to him or recently when listening to music he gets excited and does it and I can’t help but worry for autism like you did! Any advice would be great.

Flisspaps · 27/01/2023 21:32

Wow, this is an oldie! I can’t recall when I was last here!

My ‘baby’ is nearly 13 now…autism didn’t even register in my head as a possible thing for her then, however she’s almost certainly autistic (and I was diagnosed about 5 years ago 😂) and school treat her as though she has a formal
diagnosis in terms of accommodations.

I’ve only just realised now that this could’ve been an early stim (or it could be just her being a toddler and finding it funny!(m)

I would definitely say not to worry about it being autism purely because autism isn’t really something to worry about - the biggest problem with it is other people being arseholes, like anything to do with your kids you learn to work with it. Keep an eye for other traits (learning from actually autistic people is the best way to do it) and see if your LO shows any other traits.

It really could be just your LO likes the sensation or it’s something new or something they understand gets a funny response from you.

Either way, it’ll all be fine, honestly!

Lookingforadvice123 · 28/01/2023 19:43

I didn’t reply on the original thread but I’ve just come across it, my now 7 year old did this! He might actually be autistic, although no diagnosis and we are leaning more towards ADHD as he doesn’t tick enough of the ASD boxes but I know it’s not always evident that early on.

I completely agree with @Flisspaps that it’s nothing to worry about, your baby is your baby. And it’s probably not an autism “thing”, it’s probably just a baby thing!

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