does anyone have a suggestion on how to get a 1 year old to stop banging her head on the floor when she's mad?

Question

my little baby girl has started banging her head on the floor when she gets mad. she's already gotten a bruise from it and i just don't know how to stop her. i'm afraid she's going to get seriously hurt.

Answer 1

You've got conflicting advice here and you're going to have a tough time choosing. The choice is a) ignore her, she's just trying to get your attention and b) restrain or discipline her.

FWIW, our son did this at around the same age, and we ignored him. We have wooden floors in our house and when he banged his head it made a horrible sound, and my spouse was really worried our son was going to hurt himself. But by banging my own head on the floor I proved that even though it made a lot of sound, it didn't hurt at all. Our son also banged his head on the wall a couple of times, but he didn't keep that up - it didn't make any noise and it hurt like hell! (I didn't try that one to prove it.) We just turned out backs on him when he threw a fit, and even chatted, pretending that he wasn't doing anything. He stopped within 60 seconds. I assure you, your child is a clever girl and she wants to find out how she can control you, and by reacting to her headbanging, she is doing so. It's the parents' job to stay in control. It may not be nice, but she won't do herself any harm so long as you can keep her banging her head on something like a stone floor. If it's just wooden floor or carpet, she'll be fine. Human babies are hard wired for survival, and they will not do anything to harm themselves deliberately. Ignore her next time, keep it up, she'll give up eventually.

Answer 2

I was a head banger - but not when I got mad, as a comfort thing (apparantly - not sure how that works!). My parents always made sure that I had my blanket with me, that way I would bang on the blanket and not the floor.

You've had some great suggestions so far - restraining, walking away (if the audience is gone, throwing a tantrum is no fun at all!). Hard to deal with cranky toddlers isn't it (I have year old twins!). Good luck with trying to stop the behavior - and remember, it's only a season and seasons change!

Answer 3

Remove her to a place where she cannot seriously hurt herself, but don't give her a lot of attention for the behavior (i.e., you don't want her to learn that head banging results in postive parent attention or gets her what she wants -- that can result in a whole host of other problems). Believe it or not, she will not engage in such a high level of the behavior (severe enough) to cause herself damage. A bruise or two, and she'll stop -- unless the behavior is reinforced (see above on getting attention and such).

Answer 4

My daughter did that a lot. I would just pick her up and hold her until she was done screaming. She would sometime beat me with her head against my chest, but it was a lot better than the floor. She finally grew out of it. Sometime though, if you leave her there and leave the room, she may stop because you are not giving her any attention. I did that sometimes too. Good luck.

Answer 5

well you first mistake was trying to get her to stop. mine did it too for a little while but everytime they did i put them in the crib and they would bang their head on the mattress. you know when you dont let her have her way she is going to do it so grab her by the hand take her to the crib put her in and walk away. she will bang and scream for a little but soon it will stop all together because she will realize its doing her more harm than good. PS: before you leave the room put a soft toy in the crib with her to play with when she stops throwing the fit.

Answer 6

I know this sounds cruel, but try ignoring her and walking away. She is most likely doing this behavior because she knows it gets a reaction from you (and possibly whatever she's wanting). One-year-olds DO through tantrums and discipline is a form of reaction/attention (even though it is negative). I would say you should physically stop her if it gets to the point where you feel she is going to give herself a concussion or is bleeding.

Answer 7

If she got what she wanted (your attention!) the first time she did it, then that is probably what she is looking for. Don't give her any attention, positive or negative, and DEFINITELY don't give her what she wants. She will probably stop. If she doesn't, she may have a psychological problem and needs to be evaluated. It is far more likely that she is just going through a phase, though, and as long as you reinforce her actions in no way, she will outgrow it.

Answer 8

She won't hurt herself to the point where she will cause brain damage or other permanant injury. The more you react to it the more she will do it because she knows it gets to you. Children learn this early. It's like when a child holds their breath. If they do it until they pass out they start breathing on their own anyway and no damage is done. Walk away and ignore her. My son used to hit his head on the door in the den leading out to the garage because he wanted to follow me out there when I went to check on the laundry. It ignored it and he only did it a few times. Plus once they learn that it hurts them they will stop.

Answer 9

Just let her do it, eventually she will stop b/c it hurts. I have 2 boys an 5 nieces/nephews and they have all done it a some point. She is really not going to do any perm. damage. I think the best thing to do is ignore her, b/c if you react big she will keep on.

Answer 10

This sounds awful but you should put a collar around her neck. . . the cone collars that stop children from licking themselves, biting their hands, picking their face and pulling out stitches. She won't be able to bang her head. . . Dont scare yourself, I know mommies are always a little apprehensive when it comes to anyone hurting their child, esp. the child itself. Watch her carefully. . .