Crawling/cruising baby keeps hitting his head.

[Summerdays2014]

Hi,

My 9.5month old son has learnt to crawl, pull up and cruise over the last 3 weeks, which is great. However, I am getting concerned about the amount of times he falls and bangs his head. Is this normal at this stage? I try to keep eye on him at all times and follow him around. I have childproofed and removed all dangerous things etc. This morning for example he crawled to the bookcase (which is secured to the wall) and pulled himself up. I was standing behind him, but he fell forward and banged the corner of his eye on the shelf. I feel so bad everytime this happens. Is this normal or should I be doing more to keep him safe? I don't want him to do any damage to himself. I have a travel cot in the kitchen to put him in when I'm cooking etc although he cries everytime he goes in it.

Thanks all.

Normal in my experience I'm afraid.

DD2 used to crawl and ram her head straight into things - think she was too busy looking at the floor to notice where she was going! Bumps and bruises galore. She is now 12 and it hasn't done any lasting harm. You can only child proof so far.

My 10 month old hits his head all the time. I usually cry more than he does. It's just part of learning how to move around im afraid

Seek medical advice if they are sick after a bump or if they fall into their head from height.

Thanks all, you have made me feel better!

Totally normal. DD is nearly 3 and still hits her head almost daily. She runs everywhere and she's just the right height for table and sideboard corners

I wouldn't worry. I used to watch a friend's kids and their toddler used to literally run into the wall several times a day. He also used to bang his head on the furniture/wall, look surprised, say "ow!" and then bang it again, seemingly on purpose. He's older now and doesn't seem to have any brain damage...

I was worried about this too as my baby is trying to crawl and keeps banging his head on the floor. So I bought some play mats, the foamy ones you see in play areas, don't know if that's an idea for you op? Although I guess your issue is objects when he's standing up not laying down!

Normal I'm afraid, in my experience, and terrifying. You do what you can to make areas safe but after that you just have to let them get on with it. It is the only way they will learn not to hit their head, unfortunately. I am continually astounded at how much self-inflicted punishment my boy can tolerate with no ill effects.

You should also start policing your own reactions. Rushing over and scooping them up with a "poor you, how sore" will encourage tears and upset for every incident. For the knocks on the lower end of the scale, a cheery "whoopsie-daisy, boom boom, back up again" and immediate distraction works well. Of course, masses of comforting if they really are hurt but otherwise, I find it best to brush over it. The child will take his cue from you.