16month old head banging and hitting himself

[ladygagoo]

I hope someone can help, I'm having difficulty coping with DS' behaviour. It started about 6weeks ago, he will go and bang his head on anything hard when we either 1) refuse him something 2) use discipline, generally to keep him safe 3) walk away from him and separate us via a gate in order to do something.
He also bangs the back of his head against his cot so much so we've just started trying him in the travel cot as this has mesh sides.
I can see that its mostly frustration that sets him off & he is otherwise a super smiley happy boy, but watching him squat down to bang his head on stone tiles because I said no more biscuits is heartbreaking (when I couldn't get to him quick enough to put him in a safe place)
If I sense a head bang incident coming up I often hover and hold him before he has a chance to do himself any damage but lately instead he now justs hits himself in the face.
He has only a couple of words but has pretty good understanding.

Any suggestions or tips would be very gratefully received

I watched an episode of the baby whisper and she visited a family with a son doing exactly the same thing. It turns out he was doing it just because he was not getting his own way. The family were told to keep a bean bag in the room so that he could be moved there when he started banging his head off the floor. They also padded out his cot with cot bumpers and blankets round the side. The child eventually stopped doing it once he found out by doing this he would not get his own way.

Try distracting him instead of saying no or you can't have something? Full on distraction, cheery voices etc.

Thanks for the tips, funnily enough, we bought him a bean bag a couple of weeks ago and he loves flinging himself on to it.
Since the Christmas holidays have been over, a return to routine has really helped and we have had far fewer episodes.
The mumsnet mantra of this too shall pass is alive and well