Going bald...how to stop 2 year old pulling hair out...

[weston]

My DD is nearly 2.5 years and always been a thumb sucker. However with other hand she twirls her hair which ends up being twisted then eventually pulled out so she is missing half her hair...Its not a new habit she did it last year but seemed to stop but now its back again with a vengence...how to get her to stop??

Can you put her hair up at all or put in clips?

Bump

unfortunately its too thin, not enough to put up!

Weston it sounds a bit like trichotillomania to me, I've got that and have had since about 7 years old. Although sometimes I manage it well and am less bald. From reading around I think it can be quite common in kids but they often grow out of it, I guess at that age is unlikely to be due to stress (as mine was) but more a pleasurable feeling that develops into a habit. Recent research points to some genetic factors, also I've read a theory that 'trichsters' like me are not very good at regulating ourselves, and will pull hair out when understimulated (ie bored, in front of TV or tired etc) or overstimulated (ie stressed about something). Will post a link to the site which has helped me immensely over the years, they have a parent's forum where you might get some helpful advice

here

My neighbours child has trichotillomania. He has had to keep his hair shaved very close to scalp since a very young age (he started pulling out his hair at a few months old). He is now 7 and has been allowed to grow his hair out a bit, but if he starts pulling again he will have it shaved again. They have tried this several times overs the years but this is the 1st time he has been able to control it, I am guessing it is due to age/ability to understand consequences.

ah it's just not as simple as not doing it, it's a real compulsion to pull, even though logically you don't want to. Things that help me: watching my diet (caffiene and sugar and especially sweetener make my scalp itch like crazy), sleep (ie I pull more when tired - actually working 20 hours a day and living on coffee / chocolate / nurofen might be why I'm in such a bad way with my hair right now, d'oh) and if all else fails plain old distraction, having something else to fiddle with. I did some hypontherapy (via that website) to train me to deal with the compulsion without pulling and to physically keep my hands away from my head but it's soooo hard when life gets tough. It's like being an alcoholic with a bottle of whisky strapped to your head!
Makes me feel so sad for that boy and his parents, it's tough but can be beaten. I got teased a lot as a kid at school about it and only found out what it was as an adult, thanks to the internet. Hope his parents get decent advice and can help him rather than scolding him.