DS hitting himself

[ceb80]

Ds 10.5 months has recently started hitting himself or banging his head on things for no apparent reason. He tends to accidentally bang his head on something and then do it again several times on purpose. He never does it very hard but he has really sensitive skin so comes up in big red marks which look awful.
Is he just assessing pain or do I have a masochist on my hands?

Its distressing to watch but from what I gather it does pass. It could be attention seeking behaviour - he may enjoy your reaction.

I think its also a sensation thing, cause and effect.

Maybe you could move things out of his way so he cant keep doing it and try and distract him with something more interesting

It's a normal stage, they are just experimenting don't worry about it but as messy says distract him also don't overreact.

Can be a sign of headaches too, maybe try a cranial osteopath?

Forgot to say is often when he is tired, but think he is definately experimenting with cause and effect as he often looks surprised when it hurts and then tries it again just to check (and again!)
Have a good friend who is a chiro (not a cranial osteopath I know) so will mention it to her