My son and bonking his head

My daughter started banging her head on the floor and the side of the cot when she wa\s around a year in temper. It terrified me! My health visitor said to just leave her to it she wont hurt herself though my answer was that if she is banging her head she would hurt herself and i certainly wasnt prepared to let that happen. You are certainly not alone - I think many children do this and some simply just grow out of it. I dont think theres anything specific that we did to stop my daughter (accept the obvious like picking her up and padding the area if she was having a temper!) - though she just simply grew out of it.

I always thought it was weird when my daughter did it but i have come to realise that it seems perfectly normal - especially if they aren't yet old enough to communicate properly. My daughter has been doing it for a while now & has recently turned 2 - although still doing it. I guess there's no other way that they know of to show their frustration or anger. I don't think you can stop it as such, unless you choose to always give in, then there's no reason for them to do it but if you give in, you're only going to let them think they can get away with everything. They should grow out of it eventually though so try not to worry too much! It's just a phase!

My son started doing that at about 17 months, and it really bothered me. I talked to his doctor about it and she said as long as he is not causing any real harm to himself, ignore it and he will stop. It worked. He does it for attention or to get his way the same as children throwing temper tantrums. Giving him attention or even telling him to stop encourages him to do it more. My advice, ignore it, and after he stops then talk to him about how he is feeling and how he can communicate with you- for example, tell you what he wants.