Hi, I'm getting a little worried and wondered if this is a phase or should I seek further advice.
My DD 13 months keeps hitting herself, initially it was just with her hand but sometimes it is now with whatever she is holding at the time. She often does it when she's a bit tired or frustrated but sometimes just randomly out of the blue too. It's getting more frequent.
I feel like I may have unintentionally caused this- pointing to her head was one of the first bits of vocab she learned (I used to play 'heads, shoulders knees and toes' a lot with actions as she loved it and whenever she patted her head I'd get all excited and praise her) so I'm wondering if this has really confused her and she keeps doing it to get that same reaction? She always makes eye contact with me/others when she does it. I've tried firmly saying no and gently restraining her hands when she does it but obviously she's a bit too young to understand.
She also seems to be approaching the tantrumming toddler stage quite early! Throws her food in frustration if she doesn't want it or has a meltdown if I don't give her a toy that's she's pointing at etc. I suppose I'm less worried about this than the hitting, but just to paint a picture.
Other than that she's developing well, hitting milestones, intelligent and learning lots of vocab, generally a delight to be around and great with other people. Really happy temperament and affectionate too.
Just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience, or should I be seeking advice from HV/GP?