obsessive behaviour in 18 month old

[nelix2000]

what started off as mild headbanging for a few mins has turned into hours of it! so much so that we have to put ds to sleep in his travel cot as the sides are mesh not wood like his actual cot!

It has gotten to the point where he will take 2 hours to fall asleep because he "has" to rock. If i get him up he crys because he is so tired.

one option is to turn his cot bed into an actual bed then he wont be able to head bang as the two ends will be to low for his head to hit it.....then of course i worry he is just 18 months old so getting out of bed will be a novelty!

We are all sleep deprived as if he wakes up now he cant go back to sleep without...you got it...rocking!!!! the danger of the cot bed is he rocks SO hard it thumps on the floor...actually lifting off the ground....i worry he will topple it over...not to mention the thuds at 3am are growing irritating.

Anyone ever been through this?what do i do?

I would suggest moving to a bed like you say he will find t hard to hit his head on the 2 ends - but will he hot it on the wall instead ?

Yes it will be a novelty of getting out of bed but if you firmly keep putting him into it - he wil understand that that is where he should be and will hopefully sleep.

You have to work out what you want more a couple of ngts of an 18 month old getting out of bed or your child banging his head for up to 2 hours a night

Do you have any other concerns about your ds's behaviour? Does he allow you to distract him away from his rocking and head-banging?

nope no other concerns he is not obsessive to the point he cuts off and is in his own wee world....if i go into his room he is aware of me, I certainly do not think he is autistic or anything he is not showing any other signs or repetetive play (beyond that of any 18 month old).

Plus we got him a grobag 1st duvet set yesterday with the intention of turning hsi cot into a bed.......but it would seem the duvet set and pillow were enough as the headbanging has ceased!!!