COT BUMPERS

[waterjungle]

My 18 month old wakes at least 3 times a night with an ear piercing screech. He goes straight into tantrum mode and purposefully bangs his head against the side, head and foot of the cot. He has a forehead full of bruises. He will wait until I am about to pick him up and throw himself forwards slamming his head against the bars.
He is a very restless sleeper as it is and we can hear him banging his head from downstairs in his sleep.
We have thought about getting cot bumpers so at least he isn't bruising himself. At 18 months I think he is old enough not to be at risk from them ? Is this right?

No, they are not safe to be used at any age and can be used to climb out by a toddler. Try a pillow?

Do NOT fit cot bumpers. All leading experts including the NHS state that there is:

no evidence that cot bumpers prevent injuries . They may trap heat inside the cot and your toddler may climb on them or become tangled (NCT nd, NHS Choices 2013, NHS Choices 2014). Studies have shown that cot bumpers can also cause strangulation or suffocation”

What about a travel cot type cot, mesh sides.

I thought the same when Dd moved from next to me into hard cot. She is not to the extent you describe but in the morning when she stands up I often think gosh that's hard if she falls.

Please don’t use cot bumpers. They are so dangerous.
I would advise a travel cot to replace the cot he is in.

I would think that if he's hitting his head with such force that he's causing bruising, a bit of fabric and thin wadding won't make much difference, and at the age he is I would be quite concerned that he would use a bumper to climb out the cot.

@FoxtrotSkarloey
It’s the risk of strangulation not just suffocating. Lullaby trust had useful info on their website

Kids can get tangled up in them.

There is a horrific story of a father finding his toddler dead with the cot bumper wrapped tightly round his neck. It acted like a snar trap.

My dd does the same op. The bars are only soft wood it's not like their iron. They will learn to stop doing it evetually. In the mean time try a pillow. Sleep sacks are good for stopping too much movement too.

Can you address the tantrums rather than try to pad the cot? Bumpers are a bad idea on all fronts I think.

Thanks for the answers. He is already in a sleep sack. I am at a loss with what to do with the tantrums.
He has head banged since at least 6 months old but it had got so much worse in the last few weeks.
The night time head banging he does when he is asleep and then I think it wakes him and enrages him.
By then time I get to him in his room he is in full swing. He even backs up on all fours to take a crawl up and slam his head against the cot head!
If he sees me about to pick him up he will get in as many as he can before I stop him. If I leave him he is worse and I can't bear to see or hear it
In the day head butting is the first reaction to anything frustrating or upsetting he will run to find the nearest wall. I know they say he won't hurt himself but his forehead is black and blue.

He is waking 5/6 times a night doing it and has never slept more than 4 consecutive hours.

Does he bang his head in the daytime as well OP?

Can you still get air wraps? That we used they are like mesh sides from a travel cot. My kids are 8 now so things may have changes.

If you haven’t already, speak to a professional about the head banging. Someone told me years ago it could be a sign of something (not necessarily bad) but I cannot for the life of me remember what it was.

Have you spoken to a health visitor about his head banging op? Is he developing well in other regards, hitting milestones etc? Cot bumpers should never be used at any age, but even if that wasn't the case you're addressing the symptom and not the cause. Have you tried other sleeping arrangements? My son never slept more than a few hours in a cot either, but once we put him in a real bed he was fine. He coslept with us until about 2.5 then went in his own bed. Have you tried cosleeping or maybe putting a mattress for him on the floor?

We have tried co-sleeping but he throw himself around so much we have to stay awake to keep him in the bed. He also still tries to head bang and has given me a bloody lip more that once.
His is not talking as much as his brother did at this age but his brother was stupidly advanced with his speech. He really only has Dada, Mama , shoes and Up! He understands a lot more though, like no, door, book, get your coat on etc. He can do animal noises but I think a lot may be frustration. The health visitor said she is not worried about his speech, the Dr referred him for speech therapy but it was turned down. Nursery also said he his fine and understands a lot.
It's just this bloody head banging, it is awful on so many levels.

Did they give any reasons for the head banging?

No reason - and just said is stage, he will grow out of it,lots of kids do it etc. It has got worse however. I am worried people will see the bruising and draw conclusions. He sometimes does it hard to enough to make himself cry as he is not crying when he starts just obviously cross. He did it to the back of his head the other day on the edge of the marble hearth - I mean that is solid, then before I could get to him he rolled and repeated it with his forehead. He know has the long purple / red bruise in the middle of his head.

Would pool noodles wrapped round the bars of the cot be safe?

Does he have a headache?
What if you give him calpol? Does he stop head banging then ?

Sorry I disappeared, he woke up and we had the usual performance last night

Embracelife Pretty sure he doesn't have a headache as it is every night. We have tried giving him Calpol but it makes no difference.

JudgeRindersMinder Pool noodles may work but I think they would be too low. He is also quite fond of standing and and hitting his head on the top of the bars. I think I need to buy him a padded cell!

Short term I'd definitely move to a travel cot with mesh sides op. It sounds hellish and I'm sorry the HV has been so dismissive of you. Hopefully it is just a phase but that doesn't make it any easier.