My son keeps hitting his head...?

Question

My son is seven months old. As many parents know, at this age they are really curious about everything and figuring out how to do many things. He can crawl, sit up, and pull himself up on to things. I'm really proud of him but here's the deal. No matter how close to him I am, he still falls and knocks his head. We have linoleum all around our house...with a few area rugs here and there. When he plays I put him in the living room with a comforter and an area rug underneath--so he doesn't hit his head too hard. Lately he's hit his head pretty much everyday, I don't know what to do! Am I supposed to not let him roam and develop? Am I supposed to hover over him every time he plays? He's a very active and big boy (he doesn't fit in the Pack n Play anymore) so I don't want to make it so he can't play around. Does anyone know of a way I could stop him from falling--or hitting his head? Thank you for your responses!

I know this might sound like a silly question but I'm serious--and I need ideas because it isn't working.

I would also like to add--when he hit his head--it's not like really hard to the point where I'm concerned to go to the doctor.

Answer 1

WE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM! I also have a 7 month old that is doing all the things that you mentioned about your son. My 7 month old daughter got her first black eye this past weekend. She fell and bumped her head on our table and poor baby has a bruised eye. But you have to let the explore and learn for themselves. I know now days the whole CPS thing has gotten blown way out of porportion! You can get CPS called on you for your baby having a little bump on his head. That is a big fear of mine is getting CPS called because my daughter likes to pull up and often bumps something. All I can do is all I can do. I cant follow behind her everystep of the way because then nothing would get done. I hope you find a solution that works for you.

Answer 2

My daughters is 11 months old (actually she's turning 1 on Thurs)and I remember when she started pulling up and crawling. She looked horrible with all the bruises, etc. I was pretty stressed out with fear that she was really going to hurt herself. I didn't get anything else done, I just followed her around the house. She's really adventurous and I did not want to inhibit that at all. This is how I look at it now. Your child will fall and have bruises. They are building strength and they do need to learn to becareful around certain corners, etc. Keep him safe enough so that he won't end up in the hospital but YES do let him roam. In a few weeks you won't be as worried because he will have gained the strength and will learn that he can't stand up under the coffee table (an example) and you will be able to relax a little. It sounds like you are doing the best so far to keep him safe.

Answer 3

Its normal for this age. My brothers had goose egg bruises on their heads until they were about 3 years old, they were CONSTANTLY falling, running into things, hitting their heads...

its part of growing up.

Most parents look at you like youre horrible because they contain their babies in such a way that they never gain the skills they need to be sure footed and coordinated.

Life scrapes you up, leaves bruises... it all part of learning how to be mobile.

Trust me, they can call child protective services all they want, but they'll keep telling you the same thing, he's fine and healthy.

Answer 4

We've done various things with our kids at that stage, like putting about 5 thick, large blankets on the floor to pad it. Anything to make the fall softer. After a few weeks the stage is usually over (meaning they get much better at falling less), but I know what you mean.... it's worrisome, and yes, you hover over them sometimes, but you can't keep just them in the playpen (I don't agree with doing that at all once they're ready to explore. But we kept the playpen out for moments like when I need to vacuum or something for a few minutes to keep the child out of the way), so you just run around like a chicken with its head cut off for a few weeks lol. We also kept ours out of the hard floor room for that time period, too (baby gate).

Answer 5

Hello,
Not much you can do to stop a little one from falling or banging his head. You can't stand with them all of the time. The only thing I can say is it gets better when they start to walk. I had one just the same he soon grew out of it, and is now nearly 16. Good luck.

Answer 6

At walmart they sell these rubber mats, they actually stick together like a puzzle.... I think there is about 6 good size mats for maybe 10-15$. You can pick up a few packs of those and put them around your house or where he pays the most.... its also good when he starts walking, its made of a rubber like material so he wont slip if hes wearing socks....

Answer 7

I don't think there is much of anything you can do to prevent him from bumping his head. Just make sure that when he does fall, he's somewhere where it won't hurt too bad. Keep doing what you're doing. If you do anymore, you'll have your son running around with a helmet on. Nobody wants their son to be helmet boy.

Answer 8

You can actually get a cute little padded baby hat that will protect his head. I just saw one in a a catalogue. http://www.onestepahead.com/osa/Safety.html.
Here is the link.
Good luck.
PS Also corner covers are good.
PS It's not that unusual. My oldest son had a head that looked like it was covered in marbles at times. The succeeding kids didn't seem to be that bad.

Answer 9

My son used to sit against the wall and hit his head against it while laughing. He never hit it hard enough to leave bruises or anything. I would just remove him and give him something else to play with to distract him. He eventually just stopped. Good luck. I know how nerve racking this can be.

Answer 10

My daughter must have hit her head a million times by age 1! I know it is scary, but you need to let him go. If he is like my daughter she hardly ever cried. Babies skulls are different from adults and they can handle the little bumps and bangs, most of the times its us moms that can't!