My baby pulls his own hair...?

Question

My son is 13 months old. For some reason he likes to pull out CHUNKS of his hair, and then roll it on his hand with his fingers while he sucks his thumb! I don't know why he does it, or how to get him to stop??? He is causing big bald spots on his head! Normally I would think it was a regression thing, like a nervious thing, but I think he has a pretty relaxed life, we don't yell, or hit, or anything like that, and he has lots of people around who love him.

He use to scream a really high pitched scream and laugh about it for no apparnet reason, but he has stopped that, I think around the same time he started this.

he thinks it is funny when we tell him to stop, and laughs about it. My hubby tried tapping his hand and he thought that was funny too.

Answer 1

Yikes. I remember my parents telling me that I did this as a child...

I sure hope our 1 year old doesn't start this. Sounds kind of disconcerting.

On an optimistic note, he's probably just trying to exert control over his immediate environment...very common for babies. Try reading this article below -->

Good Luck :-)

Answer 2

He needs to be evaluated by a Dr. right away. It almost sounds like an obsessive compulsive thing or a misguided way of self-soothing. It could be an indicator of a few different things which I won't mention here. I'll just say that I'm in the medical field and you definately need to bring this up to your Dr. Preferably a pediatrician.

Answer 3

by the way you describe it, he may have something like autisum, I dont think OCD(obsesive compulsive disorder) would set in at such a young age- not sure though. I would definityly talk to the dr try and figure something out medically. Make sure you mention ALL of the odd things you catch him doing, write them down and present your list to your Dr. If it turns out to be more than just a "stage" early detection is the best.

Answer 4

Sometimes this traumatic hair pulling is a sign of anxiety, nervousness, or frustration. He may be seeking attention. Ignore the behavior consistently (easier said than done) for 2 weeks and the behavior should fade out. This can be conquered. He may be getting your attention for this behavior without you realizing it.

Answer 5

This may sound strange but I use to suck my thumb and I always would rub a piece of cotton on my nose.Weird huh? Maybe try giving him something else to hold in his hand to take the place of his hair.Good luck!!

Answer 6

I think it would be best to keep his hair Razor short - so he cant pull it - sounds like it is just a phase
He will out grow it especially when he doesn't have any hair to pull - he will forget all about it - I would keep it short for atleast a Year

Answer 7

All kids do wierd things. Maybe he likes the texture. My son pulled on his hair when his was that age but it was because he was mad. He grew out of it. Find him some toys that he can hold with different textures maybe this will help. I wouldn't worry too much. Babies do wierd things but they don;t know their wierd.

Answer 8

I used to work in daycare and we had a baby like that in my room.Dont worry its common, some babies do that...no reason.His parents used to put him little socks on his hands so he wouldnt hurt himself,I dont think you should do that...what you could do is make him wear a little hat..u know like the newborns wear?and try to keep his or her hair moisturized itd be more difficult for him to pull it.

Answer 9

This is serious
your son could have permenate bold patches
go to the doctor

Answer 10

put some socks on his hands and if that dosnt help I suggest going ahead and giving him a bur. Eventually he will grow out of it.