Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Rocking, rocking, ROCKING himself to sleep.....any other toddlers do this?

3 replies

SnoozyVic · 24/01/2011 01:37

Hi, since he was 10 months my DS has rocked himself when we put him down to sleep. He's now 20mnths. Laying on his back he rocks/rolls from one side to the other - quite vigorously, sometimes moving himself up the bed and I suddenly hear his head banging against the head of the cot. He starts as soon as we leave the room and this can go on for ages (as long as it takes him to go to sleep). We go in and soothe him and he stops and we resettle him, but he just starts right up again when we leave. It wakes me at night, every few hours I hear him. Resettling him could be making it worse so I've tried not going in, but it makes no difference. Getting him a toddler pillow didn't make a difference either. However, if he co-sleeps with us then he doesn't rock at all to get to sleep, but I know that myself and DH moving around in our sleep wakes him, so I don't think that co-sleeping is a long term option. If I try rocking like he does it it gives me a terrible dizzy head (I know, don't do it!) Neither of my health visitors had ever heard of a child doing this so couldn't offer any specific advice.

Does anyone else have a child that has done this? Did you find a solution or did they just stop? What could be causing it? Any tips would be very gratefully received as I'd love him to have a restful full night's sleep for once.

OP posts:
ladyrose27 · 28/01/2011 23:08

Hi Snoozyvic

There's a similar post to this on Mumsnet but dated 2006 by sarahx2005 in general chat. See if you can find it or do a search on Google under 'toddler rocking in cot' and it will bring up the post for you.

Good Luck and best wishes

Ladyrose

homebirthmummy · 29/01/2011 15:57

Mine does it!!! He's 2 and has done it since I can remember!! I've not tried to stop him, I just let him get on with it. He's perfectly happy and sleeps brilliantly. It's just what he likes do!
He has given himself a few nosebleeds in the past so I bought one of those extra long cot bumpers from ikea.
Sometimes he'll lay on the floor in the lounge and do it, it's rather odd to watch, and I have also tried and wanted to vomit, but he likes it so I leave him to it!

So you are not alone!! I wouldnt worry about it if he's happy and well.

greenteaforme · 29/01/2011 16:56

My son is 15 and has headbanged when falling asleep all his life. It freaked me out at first as I thought it maybe a sign of a developmental delay, but it was not.

At 11pm in our house the ceiling shakes to his rhythmic thumping of head on pillow. He also has a loud groaning noise to accompany the thumps. Sometimes in the night he does it when lightly asleep.
Just used to it now, he is a very bright lad so no harm done.
Thought you may find this reassuring.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page