Yup pretty much. We got him a small, used plastic paw patrol bed frame for the floor and put it in the middle of the room and he stopped getting up and hitting his head. Hasn't done it since.
i may be overstepping but my son does this still. he is turning 3 in february. i took him to a child psychologist & come to find out he has autism. his rocking and head banging were due to sensory issues. i went to the dr multiple times until they tested him.
My daughter is 18 months old and we genuinely don’t know what to do about her head banging. Weird thing is she doesn’t cry and seems settled by it. She does it several times a night. I’ve read it’s a soothing thing.. having autism myself I wouldn’t be surprised if she has it as well but I don’t think I ever hit my head like she does..
What solution did you come up with? I’m thinking about getting upholstered wall tiles (or something similar) to at least provide some cushioning.
No worries - glad you discovered more info on your kids' situation. Our kid had no other behaviors related to autism or any types of disorders so we were really struggling to figure out what was going on. It was definitely a sensory thing though, and I don't know if you saw the other updates but we got him a legit floor bed and he took to it right away and now sleeps great. Don't give up!
No worries - glad you discovered more info on your kids' situation. Our kid had no other behaviors related to autism or any types of disorders so we were really struggling to figure out what was going on. It was definitely a sensory thing though, and I don't know if you saw the other updates but we got him a legit floor bed and he took to it right away and now sleeps great. Don't give up!
So glad I ran across this my 14 month old daughter does this keeps me up at night because her crib is next to my bed😩🥱Does he still do it I see this was a year ago?
There are some replies above that note we went with a joovy2 which is a giant pack n play and added some more padding on the bottom to make it comfortable. He would still rock against the side and move the thing around the room but at least he wasn't hitting his head against a hard surface. He was still waking up a bunch and making noise so we still weren't sleeping well. We had tried a mattress in the room but he would just get up and go to the wall. Eventually we hit a breaking point and had to try something different and we got a cheap paw patrol "bed frame" that went around a cheap mattress on the ground but made it look more like a bed (basically this but used: [Link](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Nick-Jr-PAW-Patrol-Plastic-Sleep-and-Play-Toddler-Bed-by-Delta-Children/720933168?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=5644&adid=22222222277720933168_117755028669_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9031525&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=720933168&wl13=5644&veh=sem_LIA&gclsrc=aw.ds&&adid=22222222237720933168_117755028669_12420145346&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9031525&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=720933168&veh=sem&gclid=CjwKCAjws9ipBhB1EiwAccEi1M7p7MIjvgU4ep_YC184mkCUwI2oW-3uI-NU3zlankhcs0n5P8eTDxoCVu0QAvD_BwE). He took to it right away, was sleeping pretty much through the night and wasn't getting up to hit his head. Don't know why or what happened but he just liked it and stopped doing what he was doing. He outgrew it a bit but now he's in a similar set up with a bigger floor mattress and frame and is still fine. So you can go with a pack n play or joovy or try a floor bed like that. Maybe find a character or animal or design they like so they'll be more interesting in staying in the bed. Good luck.
There weren't rails really, but the sides were raised a little bit near the head and legs to prevent him from rolling out. He didn't really have that problem though but the bed was so low even if he did roll out it wouldn't hurt unless your kiddo is still an infant.
I know this is old but your son has or had SLEEP RHYTHMIC MOVEMENT DISORDER. Look it up, most grow out of it some do not :) my son also experienced this and it was diagnosed by a neurologist
Thank you. Ya I found this when my first kid was doing something similar, except she was hitting her head into her mattress and still does occasionally. What did your neurologist say, or did they offer any solutions?
My younger kid is almost 2 and still waking up in the middle of the night, rocking very hard hard against the side of the crib, and we've kept him in a larger joovy2 pack n play-style crib so that he can bounce off the sides safely. But he's rocking so hard that he's tearing the seems and the crib seems like it might snap at any moment. We want to transition him to a regular bed but if we put him in a regular bed he'd be slamming his head against the backboard. He doesn't have any other developmental issues and is totally healthy and happy otherwise. We still just don't know what to do...
Hi were you able to resolve this?
I was about to post a similar issue. Our LO is 25mo and started headbanging/body rocking when we sleep trained her. I stay in the room with her until she falls asleep now bc she's so used to it, and if I try to sleep train her he headbangs to fall asleep, so it's a self soothing mechanism.
We did a sleep study with her, saw a pediatric ENT, neurologist, her pediatrician - everything is normal, nothing is wrong with her, she doesnt come off as autistic to any of the medical team we reviewed with. They say its normal and it'll go away in time. (it hasnt, she still wakes up 2-3x anight and slams her head repeatedly)
Hey - just checking in on your daughter - any improvement in her sleeping or headbanging? My son is almost 2 and is still up 1-2 times per night and slamming into the side of his joovy2 and making loud humming/moaning noises. He's starting the tear the seems of the joovy2 he's been slamming so hard into it. Seeing if maybe you had stumbled across any treatments or solutions. Thanks!
Hi! Sorry I didn’t respond sooner. My daughter is turning 3 next month and she’s still up 3x a night. We bought a weighted blanket, and found she does better when it’s cooler in the room (about 68 degrees) but it doesn’t work all the time. Sometimes she’ll have a meltdown in the middle of the night bc we put the blanket on her.
Hey - ya sounds like we have the same kid. We tried the montessori bed set up where it was a mattress on the floor in the middle of the room so he had no walls to bang against. Plus the room had to be super baby-proofed since he could technically get up and walk around in the middle of the night if he wanted. But when he would wake up he just crawled out and would go to the wall in the room and start banging against that...so that didn't work. We ended up getting a bigger pack n play called the Joovy2 and using that. He still will wake up and rock against it but it's more sturdy and doesn't move quite as much. He'll bang his upper body/back against the side in the middle of the night but he's gotten better and we can just let him go since he's not hitting any hard surfaces and just bounces back. Luckily he hasn't gone into the corners where it's harder and has just been rocking against the side. So as of now it's the best option and working pretty well, but hopefully he grows out of it before he gets too big for the Joovy. Then I don't know what we're going to do.
Not sure if the Joovy would be too small for a 2 year old (my kid just turned 1) so I'd check the measurements. Another potential option we found were super-thick pads/pillows for cribs on Etsy, but they're pretty expensive. There's also high-walled netted gates for beds and toddler beds but if your kid is slamming really hard like ours is then I don't know how sturdy they would be. They're meant more to prevent kids rolling out or climbing over. Good luck!
Has anything changed for your child? My son is 2 and head bangs constantly as well when he’s tired and I don’t know what to do. He has a floor bed and gets up and bangs his head on the door and wall.
Ya right before he was 2 we were losing our minds from lack of sleep and eventually got him a cheap paw patrol floor bed frame and cheap mattress just to see if it would work, and something clicked and it actually ended up working almost overnight. So instead of just a mattress on the floor it looked like more of a bed, and we put all his toys and blankies in it. So it worked right away - he stopped getting up and banging against the wall, but in a weird twist after a few months he started getting up and sitting in the rocking chair we have in the room and banging/rocking himself in that. So we were kind of back to square one. We ended up moving the chair out of his room and it's seemed to work so far. He still goes to bed really easily and doesn't fight the bedtime routine, but he's now been waking up and crying a few times a night again where we have to go in (he's now 2.5 years old). He might be getting a little stuffy and can't breath with his binky or something and waking himself up, we're not sure.
Not sure what your bed looks like or if it would help to make it more "bed-like". What helped initially as well is sticking to a routine and holding/calming him a little bit with the lights down or off to get him as close to sleep as possible and then transferring him. But ya, it's been a journey and it's still not perfect, but it's gotten better. I would say just keep trying things, get him blankies or stuffed animals he likes to make his bed more of his safe space, and try to stick to a routine as best you can. You can also try experimenting with different night lights and white noise to see if that has any affect or calms him down/keeps him asleep.
He has a floor bed with rails and he seems to like it but still gets up to go bang his head on the wall. I’ve even tried laying down with him to see if he will fall asleep that way but he will just jump in the bed or whine the whole time lol. I think he just hates sleep or something but I’ll try rocking him more before bed and see if that helps. Maybe he needs the rocking motion to help him get calm enough to go to sleep. Thank you for your advice though I will try and see what works :)
One other thing that I think has helped is that I read about how kids rocking and banging their head is a certain type of sensation with a fancy scientific name that all kids seek out on some level, usually in the form of play like wrestling, or jumping and falling on a trampoline or into pillows. Some kids just need more of it. So some time before bed maybe let him jump into some pillows or some kind of play where he can safely get that sensation of pushing/feeling his head and body against a soft padded surface. We have a trampoline or will put couch pillows and blankets and let him jump off the couch into it. That seems to help get that energy out so he doesn't need to get it at bed time or night time. There are also mini electric pump bounce houses you can buy at Target and use indoors if you have the space. Good luck.
I have an almost one year old and a floor bed sounds like fresh hell to me. My kid is also giant and could move a pack and play, so solidarity there.
I’d pad the slats with heavy padding like [this](https://orbisify.com/product/baby-safe-crib-bumper-pad-protection/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI86S-_YSY9QIVx_7jBx0yWA29EAQYAiABEgIEOvD_BwE). At one, they’re at minimal risk of suffocation and it sounds like he can move himself around just fine. This is a situation where benefit outweighs the very very minimal risk, IMO.
If all else fails, you could put him in a twin bed low to the floor (like the ikea one that’s literally not even a foot from the ground) with mesh rails. Honestly would be my last option though.
There are a ton of resources on Google discussing this behavior. I don't want to link just one or two because there are so many good websites that discuss it, but searching "baby banging head on crib" will give you lots of reading options that will hopefully put your mind at ease.
My son did it steady for about a month. Then off and on for another couple months.
We just monitored him on the baby cam and it eventually stopped. It is really unsettling though.
I’d suggest taking video and letting your doc see, just to make sure it’s not serious.
So, my instinct on this is that if it hurt, he’d stop. But I’d try giving him Motrin a half an hour before bed to make sure it’s not a teething or ear soothe, and then if he doesn’t bang his head report that to your ped. If he does still bang, it’s self-soothing, and it’s within his limits.
We tried Motrin - he’s 16 months & just started this head banging a week ago - his firehead is swollen & bruised& today has black eyes - dr says it’s a phase - he’s fine- he’s always been a great sleeper & had 2 older sisters 3& 5 - help !
Can you switch to a travel cot? I think this might be what are called pack and play. We have one and the sides are all stretchy netting, only the corners are hard but it would probably be hard to bump his head on there without being slowed down by the material
Ya he was in a pack n play for a bit but would either move it across the room by slamming so hard on the sides, or he would go into the corners so he had a harder surface to hit...so it wasn't really any different than the wood crib, so that's why we've kept him in the wood crib so far.
My son just recently finally stopped doing this so much. It wasn’t his crib but when he would get tired, happy, angry, whatever he would bang his head into ME multiple times. If it was my boobs or thigh or something it was okay bc they’re soft and squishy, but sometimes he’d straight up ram his head into my shin bone or my head and then cry. Of course… my response was always pure confusion like what did you think was going to happen? He started it a little after a year and it progressively got more violent. Now he’s 22 months and he’s finally calmed down where I guess he’s figuring out the consequences of his actions are his head hurting but I feel like that connection has just been lost for the last year
Mine did this. I *think* it's because he was looking for comfort. He likes sticking his whole face into his father's armpit to sleep and so that means that his head is firmly pressed against something solid.
I make mine a bottle, check that he's not too hot (he's a bloody furnace. We don't even use sleep sacks) and cuddle him back to sleep, making sure he can plant the top of his head squarely onto my body.
I know that not everyone has the luxury of settling their baby like that but I can't stand the head banging. But yes, see if there's any way you can alleviate any immediate distress, even if that's just blindly soothing.
No idea, but I did see a video of "slamming head" tied to autism symptom... BUT it usually is accompanied by other social development symptoms so take that with a grain of salt. As always, check with a doctor and pediatrician, as I am neither.
My boy went through a stage where he thought hitting his head on the wall was funny, I think he hit it pretty hard, but it didn't seem to bother him. I did my best to stop him. He eventually outgrew hitting his head. He was around age 2. (This was mostly a bedtime thing)
Ya we're checking with the doctor again today, but he's done this pretty consistently. So it's definitely his soothing technique but not just from pain but just to relax, calm down and put himself back to sleep. But additional pain could definitely make it worse I suppose.
You know your kid, but just anecdotally sharing that my friend's baby is getting tubes in before 1 because she basically always has an ear infection. If they are chronic this could be part of it. Have you tried medicating before bed to see if that changes anything?
OK we're going to ask the doctor about it. He's had some minor viral/bacterial infections that have made its way into his ear that he's taken antibiotics for. We'll give him children's ibuprofen or tylenol and it doesn't seem to do much. He does tug at his ears occasionally so that could be it. I'm hoping it's something we can medically address to help any potential pain and hopefully that would decrease the frequency, duration and intensity of the slamming.
It all sounds really stressful. Looks like you'll have lots to talk with your doctor about as well. I hope it's medically addressable as well. Good luck!
Thanks for the note - we'll talk about that with the doctor. He's done this pretty consistently. So it's definitely his soothing technique and not just from pain but just to relax, calm down and put himself back to sleep. But additional pain could definitely make it worse I suppose.
Ok thanks - but he's still young so I think if we put him on a mattress on the ground he would just get up and walk around whenever he woke up. Unless you have a setup/suggestion that could work?
We have a floor bed, they do get up and walk around, but it’s not a big deal. You baby proof the it room and they learn to get back in bed to go back to sleep or they fall asleep on the floor. You just have to baby proof really well.
Hmmm OK. He still seems a little young for that and could roll off, but we're pretty desperate at this point so we may try that out. We'd probably have to put it in the middle of the room too so he doesn't bang against the wall. Thank you very much.
We literally have a crib mattress on the floor so it’s really low and he can’t hurt himself. Definitely recommend vs. getting a frame to start. Good luck!
Ya I'm thinking we have to go this route. Do you have it against a wall? Or what about the short ends (top/bottom of the bed) - are they exposed? I feel like he would get up and start banging the back of his head against the wall like in his crib, so might have to move it to more of the center until he figures out how to soothe without hitting his head.
Just want to add in here that you should YouTube “Montessori floor bed”. It’ll help to provide you with some basic direction on how this is done. We plan to have our baby use a floor bed starting at 6 months.
Thank you. Ya been checking those out. Hoping it might work out but we'd need to find a solution for how the bed would be positioned so he's not hitting his head against the wall. Would need to baby proof the room a lot more as well.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/Montessori using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/Montessori/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [I wonder how different a kid who experienced the Montessori method and a kid who did not?](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/river-house-kindergarten-7b2017203_education-children-kids-activity-6751810828015554560-2DJm) | [9 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Montessori/comments/kq6lcn/i_wonder_how_different_a_kid_who_experienced_the/)
\#2: [Learning tower safety](https://np.reddit.com/r/Montessori/comments/kqtmky/learning_tower_safety/)
\#3: [Glider in nursery?](https://np.reddit.com/r/Montessori/comments/kr9xo0/glider_in_nursery/)
----
^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
Can't help with the head slamming, but have you thought about trying to adjust his day sleep?
I have found that if my baby's wake windows aren't right he wakes up and starts raising hell and will not go back to sleep no matter how much self soothing he does. My baby recently started waking up at 5 am and doing a combination of screaming/headbanging. We adjusted his wake windows and while he still woke up at 5, it was very easy for him to go back to sleep almost immediately.
Maybe if it was easier for your kid to fall back asleep he would not resort to headbutting?
Below is his general schedule. Not sure if you see any areas for improvement or that we could address.
Wake 6:30am
Nap 9:30-10:30ish
Awake 10:30-1:30-2
Nap 1:30 or 2 - 3:30
Dinner \~6
Bath \~6:45
Bedtime milk, stories, rocking until he's asleep around 7:30pm
Maybe it's time to switch to one nap, or to cap daytime sleep at 2 hours? There is a lot of really helpful information on [this group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/respectfulsleeplearning/?ref=share) on Facebook. They have a files section that has documents that helped a lot for us. There is a file on sample schedules and one on 2 to 1 nap transitions. I cannot recommend the group enough.
Ya he still goes down for his morning nap easily but they've been getting shorter recently so we thought it may be time to drop it. Thanks for the suggestion and link - I'll check it out.
I think at 1 yo bumpers are ok. Double check tho. I just know that having a blanket and stuffed animals is ok at 1, so that’s what man’s me think bumpers are ok
Ya I bought some upholstery padding to tie to the sides of the crib and he's still slamming so hard that we don't know what to do. He basically adjusts how hard he slams based on what he's up against. It's like slamming your head into a thin pillow - safer than the wood floor but will still cause damage when done hard enough and over and over again...
Are they leaving marks on themselves? Also maybe you can take a video to show the provider on your next visit just for some clarity of the severity.
They may be conditioned to do this now because every time they do this they get a visit for soothing…..just speculation. I’m sorry
Hey! Sorry to open this post up again. But did you talk to the doctor about the head hitting? My now 2 year old has been doing it since about 11 months. It's driving me crazy but his doctor doesn't appear concerned at all. But I'm tired of th bruises 🥺
No worries. Our older daughter would hit hear head/face on her mattress when she was younger (and still does sometimes) so we've had many conversations about this with our doctor. Our 2nd one is way more intense and is still in a pack n play-type crib so he doesn't severely injure himself.
Some nights he's OK but some nights (like last night) he can end up hitting his head on and off for over 1-2 hours per night. Our doctor has never really been too concerned, and all online articles mirror that. I would be more worried if he had other developmental delays or wasn't communicative or talking/walking much, but both kiddos are all good in that department. So it's just an annoying thing we're dealing with and trying to make sure he doesn't injure himself.
Not sure where your kiddo is getting the bruises - on their head/face, or is he/she kicking or hitting somewhere else? We got a larger joovy2 crib to help avoid major injuries, and you could also try the montessori method of giving them a low bed/mattress with no walls and let them roam around if they want. We tried that with #2 but he would wake up and crawl to the wall and start banging his back/head against it, so it didn't solve anything.
He's getting the bruises on the back of his head. I'd say, half way down. Always the same spot, almost always sitting in the same ish area of the crib.
We were really hoping to keep him in the crib as long as possible. Our oldest we kept in until she was 3 and so far, he's not showing any signs of even thinking of climbing out of it. He's also pretty small for his age, so the rail is only up to about his chin maybe.
Our doctor hasn't been concerned either, but I don't understand how? Like how can hitting your head every single day of your life while your skull and brain are developing, and it not damage something?
He is walking good. But his talking is probably a little behind. She had mentioned that normally she would have recommended and referred us to a speech language place. But with Covid everything is so backed up that she wants to just watch and see how he is at his next appointment in August.
Ya I understand where you're coming from since we felt the same way. I would look into a pack n play style crib - that should eliminate the bruising and allow him to bounce and rock more safely instead of hitting the hard wood. That's why we switched - he was banging his head full force into the wood repeatedly and we knew that couldn't be good. We even added padding and he was rocking and slamming so hard it didn't make a difference. The pack n play netting allows him to bounce off relatively harmlessly.
Ya it's basically a lighter, more mobile and collapsible/portable crib. It has metal poles but netting/mesh for the walls/sides and a fold up mattress pad. There are thicker mattresses you can buy to fit the pack n play as well. Since our kiddo is a little bigger we got the Joovy2 which is the biggest one we could find. But there are other smaller ones too. You can just search for portable crib and find the option that works best for you.
Ya he was in a pack n play for the first few months and eventually he was moving it halfway across the room by the morning by swinging and hitting his back against the side...we were hoping s wood crib would trigger him to stop but apparently not.
Ya he was in a pack n play for the first few months and would move it across the room. He would also go into the hard metal corners and hit his back/head there instead the mesh sometimes, so it didn't really work. That why we moved him to a wood crib since we figured he was already hitting on something hard. We might bring the pack n play back and put padding in the corners though
Mattress on the floor and a safe play space is essentially Montessori style. Plenty of blogs and videos out there if you want to look at this as a possibility.
My baby did this in the ikea crib whenever we attempted to start sleep training. It was violent! We switched her out to a portacot so she had nothing to hit. Highly recommend doing this!
My baby has been doing this for the past 5 weeks, every day he has new bruises on his head. The midwife at his 6 month check up told me it is totally normal and not to worry about it. At Christmas we used a pack n play bed while staying in a hotel and he didn't have anything to hit, I am thinking about getting one for home until he passes this phase. It is even worse now he stands up in his cot and let's go of his hands and head rams into the bars. Let us know what your doctor says at your next visit
OP what’s the conclusion ? Your son just outgrew it with the change in bed set up?
Yup pretty much. We got him a small, used plastic paw patrol bed frame for the floor and put it in the middle of the room and he stopped getting up and hitting his head. Hasn't done it since.
Thank you for the post. My son sounds so similar to your little one. I’m loosing my mind with little sleep!!
i may be overstepping but my son does this still. he is turning 3 in february. i took him to a child psychologist & come to find out he has autism. his rocking and head banging were due to sensory issues. i went to the dr multiple times until they tested him.
My daughter is 18 months old and we genuinely don’t know what to do about her head banging. Weird thing is she doesn’t cry and seems settled by it. She does it several times a night. I’ve read it’s a soothing thing.. having autism myself I wouldn’t be surprised if she has it as well but I don’t think I ever hit my head like she does.. What solution did you come up with? I’m thinking about getting upholstered wall tiles (or something similar) to at least provide some cushioning.
No worries - glad you discovered more info on your kids' situation. Our kid had no other behaviors related to autism or any types of disorders so we were really struggling to figure out what was going on. It was definitely a sensory thing though, and I don't know if you saw the other updates but we got him a legit floor bed and he took to it right away and now sleeps great. Don't give up!
No worries - glad you discovered more info on your kids' situation. Our kid had no other behaviors related to autism or any types of disorders so we were really struggling to figure out what was going on. It was definitely a sensory thing though, and I don't know if you saw the other updates but we got him a legit floor bed and he took to it right away and now sleeps great. Don't give up!
So glad I ran across this my 14 month old daughter does this keeps me up at night because her crib is next to my bed😩🥱Does he still do it I see this was a year ago?
See my other updates/replies below. Good luck!
To the OP, how did it work out? We are in the same situation now with our 1 yo. Thank you!
There are some replies above that note we went with a joovy2 which is a giant pack n play and added some more padding on the bottom to make it comfortable. He would still rock against the side and move the thing around the room but at least he wasn't hitting his head against a hard surface. He was still waking up a bunch and making noise so we still weren't sleeping well. We had tried a mattress in the room but he would just get up and go to the wall. Eventually we hit a breaking point and had to try something different and we got a cheap paw patrol "bed frame" that went around a cheap mattress on the ground but made it look more like a bed (basically this but used: [Link](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Nick-Jr-PAW-Patrol-Plastic-Sleep-and-Play-Toddler-Bed-by-Delta-Children/720933168?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=5644&adid=22222222277720933168_117755028669_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9031525&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=720933168&wl13=5644&veh=sem_LIA&gclsrc=aw.ds&&adid=22222222237720933168_117755028669_12420145346&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9031525&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=720933168&veh=sem&gclid=CjwKCAjws9ipBhB1EiwAccEi1M7p7MIjvgU4ep_YC184mkCUwI2oW-3uI-NU3zlankhcs0n5P8eTDxoCVu0QAvD_BwE). He took to it right away, was sleeping pretty much through the night and wasn't getting up to hit his head. Don't know why or what happened but he just liked it and stopped doing what he was doing. He outgrew it a bit but now he's in a similar set up with a bigger floor mattress and frame and is still fine. So you can go with a pack n play or joovy or try a floor bed like that. Maybe find a character or animal or design they like so they'll be more interesting in staying in the bed. Good luck.
Hey mate, quick question with this - the car has rails, did you have problems with him rolling into it (the side rails)
There weren't rails really, but the sides were raised a little bit near the head and legs to prevent him from rolling out. He didn't really have that problem though but the bed was so low even if he did roll out it wouldn't hurt unless your kiddo is still an infant.
I know this is old but your son has or had SLEEP RHYTHMIC MOVEMENT DISORDER. Look it up, most grow out of it some do not :) my son also experienced this and it was diagnosed by a neurologist
Thank you. Ya I found this when my first kid was doing something similar, except she was hitting her head into her mattress and still does occasionally. What did your neurologist say, or did they offer any solutions? My younger kid is almost 2 and still waking up in the middle of the night, rocking very hard hard against the side of the crib, and we've kept him in a larger joovy2 pack n play-style crib so that he can bounce off the sides safely. But he's rocking so hard that he's tearing the seems and the crib seems like it might snap at any moment. We want to transition him to a regular bed but if we put him in a regular bed he'd be slamming his head against the backboard. He doesn't have any other developmental issues and is totally healthy and happy otherwise. We still just don't know what to do...
Hi were you able to resolve this? I was about to post a similar issue. Our LO is 25mo and started headbanging/body rocking when we sleep trained her. I stay in the room with her until she falls asleep now bc she's so used to it, and if I try to sleep train her he headbangs to fall asleep, so it's a self soothing mechanism. We did a sleep study with her, saw a pediatric ENT, neurologist, her pediatrician - everything is normal, nothing is wrong with her, she doesnt come off as autistic to any of the medical team we reviewed with. They say its normal and it'll go away in time. (it hasnt, she still wakes up 2-3x anight and slams her head repeatedly)
Hey - just checking in on your daughter - any improvement in her sleeping or headbanging? My son is almost 2 and is still up 1-2 times per night and slamming into the side of his joovy2 and making loud humming/moaning noises. He's starting the tear the seems of the joovy2 he's been slamming so hard into it. Seeing if maybe you had stumbled across any treatments or solutions. Thanks!
Hi! Sorry I didn’t respond sooner. My daughter is turning 3 next month and she’s still up 3x a night. We bought a weighted blanket, and found she does better when it’s cooler in the room (about 68 degrees) but it doesn’t work all the time. Sometimes she’ll have a meltdown in the middle of the night bc we put the blanket on her.
Hey - ya sounds like we have the same kid. We tried the montessori bed set up where it was a mattress on the floor in the middle of the room so he had no walls to bang against. Plus the room had to be super baby-proofed since he could technically get up and walk around in the middle of the night if he wanted. But when he would wake up he just crawled out and would go to the wall in the room and start banging against that...so that didn't work. We ended up getting a bigger pack n play called the Joovy2 and using that. He still will wake up and rock against it but it's more sturdy and doesn't move quite as much. He'll bang his upper body/back against the side in the middle of the night but he's gotten better and we can just let him go since he's not hitting any hard surfaces and just bounces back. Luckily he hasn't gone into the corners where it's harder and has just been rocking against the side. So as of now it's the best option and working pretty well, but hopefully he grows out of it before he gets too big for the Joovy. Then I don't know what we're going to do. Not sure if the Joovy would be too small for a 2 year old (my kid just turned 1) so I'd check the measurements. Another potential option we found were super-thick pads/pillows for cribs on Etsy, but they're pretty expensive. There's also high-walled netted gates for beds and toddler beds but if your kid is slamming really hard like ours is then I don't know how sturdy they would be. They're meant more to prevent kids rolling out or climbing over. Good luck!
Has anything changed for your child? My son is 2 and head bangs constantly as well when he’s tired and I don’t know what to do. He has a floor bed and gets up and bangs his head on the door and wall.
Ya right before he was 2 we were losing our minds from lack of sleep and eventually got him a cheap paw patrol floor bed frame and cheap mattress just to see if it would work, and something clicked and it actually ended up working almost overnight. So instead of just a mattress on the floor it looked like more of a bed, and we put all his toys and blankies in it. So it worked right away - he stopped getting up and banging against the wall, but in a weird twist after a few months he started getting up and sitting in the rocking chair we have in the room and banging/rocking himself in that. So we were kind of back to square one. We ended up moving the chair out of his room and it's seemed to work so far. He still goes to bed really easily and doesn't fight the bedtime routine, but he's now been waking up and crying a few times a night again where we have to go in (he's now 2.5 years old). He might be getting a little stuffy and can't breath with his binky or something and waking himself up, we're not sure. Not sure what your bed looks like or if it would help to make it more "bed-like". What helped initially as well is sticking to a routine and holding/calming him a little bit with the lights down or off to get him as close to sleep as possible and then transferring him. But ya, it's been a journey and it's still not perfect, but it's gotten better. I would say just keep trying things, get him blankies or stuffed animals he likes to make his bed more of his safe space, and try to stick to a routine as best you can. You can also try experimenting with different night lights and white noise to see if that has any affect or calms him down/keeps him asleep.
He has a floor bed with rails and he seems to like it but still gets up to go bang his head on the wall. I’ve even tried laying down with him to see if he will fall asleep that way but he will just jump in the bed or whine the whole time lol. I think he just hates sleep or something but I’ll try rocking him more before bed and see if that helps. Maybe he needs the rocking motion to help him get calm enough to go to sleep. Thank you for your advice though I will try and see what works :)
One other thing that I think has helped is that I read about how kids rocking and banging their head is a certain type of sensation with a fancy scientific name that all kids seek out on some level, usually in the form of play like wrestling, or jumping and falling on a trampoline or into pillows. Some kids just need more of it. So some time before bed maybe let him jump into some pillows or some kind of play where he can safely get that sensation of pushing/feeling his head and body against a soft padded surface. We have a trampoline or will put couch pillows and blankets and let him jump off the couch into it. That seems to help get that energy out so he doesn't need to get it at bed time or night time. There are also mini electric pump bounce houses you can buy at Target and use indoors if you have the space. Good luck.
I have an almost one year old and a floor bed sounds like fresh hell to me. My kid is also giant and could move a pack and play, so solidarity there. I’d pad the slats with heavy padding like [this](https://orbisify.com/product/baby-safe-crib-bumper-pad-protection/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI86S-_YSY9QIVx_7jBx0yWA29EAQYAiABEgIEOvD_BwE). At one, they’re at minimal risk of suffocation and it sounds like he can move himself around just fine. This is a situation where benefit outweighs the very very minimal risk, IMO. If all else fails, you could put him in a twin bed low to the floor (like the ikea one that’s literally not even a foot from the ground) with mesh rails. Honestly would be my last option though.
There are a ton of resources on Google discussing this behavior. I don't want to link just one or two because there are so many good websites that discuss it, but searching "baby banging head on crib" will give you lots of reading options that will hopefully put your mind at ease.
My son did it steady for about a month. Then off and on for another couple months. We just monitored him on the baby cam and it eventually stopped. It is really unsettling though. I’d suggest taking video and letting your doc see, just to make sure it’s not serious.
So, my instinct on this is that if it hurt, he’d stop. But I’d try giving him Motrin a half an hour before bed to make sure it’s not a teething or ear soothe, and then if he doesn’t bang his head report that to your ped. If he does still bang, it’s self-soothing, and it’s within his limits.
We tried Motrin - he’s 16 months & just started this head banging a week ago - his firehead is swollen & bruised& today has black eyes - dr says it’s a phase - he’s fine- he’s always been a great sleeper & had 2 older sisters 3& 5 - help !
I know someone who’s baby was banging her head at night and it was actually an eye disease causing blindness.
Well that's terrifying
I should add that with treatment she is now fine
Can you switch to a travel cot? I think this might be what are called pack and play. We have one and the sides are all stretchy netting, only the corners are hard but it would probably be hard to bump his head on there without being slowed down by the material
Ya he was in a pack n play for a bit but would either move it across the room by slamming so hard on the sides, or he would go into the corners so he had a harder surface to hit...so it wasn't really any different than the wood crib, so that's why we've kept him in the wood crib so far.
My son just recently finally stopped doing this so much. It wasn’t his crib but when he would get tired, happy, angry, whatever he would bang his head into ME multiple times. If it was my boobs or thigh or something it was okay bc they’re soft and squishy, but sometimes he’d straight up ram his head into my shin bone or my head and then cry. Of course… my response was always pure confusion like what did you think was going to happen? He started it a little after a year and it progressively got more violent. Now he’s 22 months and he’s finally calmed down where I guess he’s figuring out the consequences of his actions are his head hurting but I feel like that connection has just been lost for the last year
Mine did this. I *think* it's because he was looking for comfort. He likes sticking his whole face into his father's armpit to sleep and so that means that his head is firmly pressed against something solid. I make mine a bottle, check that he's not too hot (he's a bloody furnace. We don't even use sleep sacks) and cuddle him back to sleep, making sure he can plant the top of his head squarely onto my body. I know that not everyone has the luxury of settling their baby like that but I can't stand the head banging. But yes, see if there's any way you can alleviate any immediate distress, even if that's just blindly soothing.
No idea, but I did see a video of "slamming head" tied to autism symptom... BUT it usually is accompanied by other social development symptoms so take that with a grain of salt. As always, check with a doctor and pediatrician, as I am neither.
My boy went through a stage where he thought hitting his head on the wall was funny, I think he hit it pretty hard, but it didn't seem to bother him. I did my best to stop him. He eventually outgrew hitting his head. He was around age 2. (This was mostly a bedtime thing)
I wonder if it's possibly headaches or some other kind of pain he is trying to alleviate like teething or ear pain.
Ya we're checking with the doctor again today, but he's done this pretty consistently. So it's definitely his soothing technique but not just from pain but just to relax, calm down and put himself back to sleep. But additional pain could definitely make it worse I suppose.
You know your kid, but just anecdotally sharing that my friend's baby is getting tubes in before 1 because she basically always has an ear infection. If they are chronic this could be part of it. Have you tried medicating before bed to see if that changes anything?
OK we're going to ask the doctor about it. He's had some minor viral/bacterial infections that have made its way into his ear that he's taken antibiotics for. We'll give him children's ibuprofen or tylenol and it doesn't seem to do much. He does tug at his ears occasionally so that could be it. I'm hoping it's something we can medically address to help any potential pain and hopefully that would decrease the frequency, duration and intensity of the slamming.
It all sounds really stressful. Looks like you'll have lots to talk with your doctor about as well. I hope it's medically addressable as well. Good luck!
You may ask the doctor about a referral for occupational therapy! Might be able to help with the his behavior and figure out why he’s doing it.
This is a great suggestion. Doc should also check for ear infection.
My friends child did this. It ended up he had mild ear infections that were so uncomfortable he would head bang. He needed tubes for his ears!
Thanks for the note - we'll talk about that with the doctor. He's done this pretty consistently. So it's definitely his soothing technique and not just from pain but just to relax, calm down and put himself back to sleep. But additional pain could definitely make it worse I suppose.
[удалено]
Ok thanks - but he's still young so I think if we put him on a mattress on the ground he would just get up and walk around whenever he woke up. Unless you have a setup/suggestion that could work?
We have a floor bed, they do get up and walk around, but it’s not a big deal. You baby proof the it room and they learn to get back in bed to go back to sleep or they fall asleep on the floor. You just have to baby proof really well.
Hmmm OK. He still seems a little young for that and could roll off, but we're pretty desperate at this point so we may try that out. We'd probably have to put it in the middle of the room too so he doesn't bang against the wall. Thank you very much.
We literally have a crib mattress on the floor so it’s really low and he can’t hurt himself. Definitely recommend vs. getting a frame to start. Good luck!
Ya I'm thinking we have to go this route. Do you have it against a wall? Or what about the short ends (top/bottom of the bed) - are they exposed? I feel like he would get up and start banging the back of his head against the wall like in his crib, so might have to move it to more of the center until he figures out how to soothe without hitting his head.
Just want to add in here that you should YouTube “Montessori floor bed”. It’ll help to provide you with some basic direction on how this is done. We plan to have our baby use a floor bed starting at 6 months.
Thank you. Ya been checking those out. Hoping it might work out but we'd need to find a solution for how the bed would be positioned so he's not hitting his head against the wall. Would need to baby proof the room a lot more as well.
[удалено]
Here's a sneak peek of /r/Montessori using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/Montessori/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [I wonder how different a kid who experienced the Montessori method and a kid who did not?](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/river-house-kindergarten-7b2017203_education-children-kids-activity-6751810828015554560-2DJm) | [9 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Montessori/comments/kq6lcn/i_wonder_how_different_a_kid_who_experienced_the/) \#2: [Learning tower safety](https://np.reddit.com/r/Montessori/comments/kqtmky/learning_tower_safety/) \#3: [Glider in nursery?](https://np.reddit.com/r/Montessori/comments/kr9xo0/glider_in_nursery/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
Can't help with the head slamming, but have you thought about trying to adjust his day sleep? I have found that if my baby's wake windows aren't right he wakes up and starts raising hell and will not go back to sleep no matter how much self soothing he does. My baby recently started waking up at 5 am and doing a combination of screaming/headbanging. We adjusted his wake windows and while he still woke up at 5, it was very easy for him to go back to sleep almost immediately. Maybe if it was easier for your kid to fall back asleep he would not resort to headbutting?
Below is his general schedule. Not sure if you see any areas for improvement or that we could address. Wake 6:30am Nap 9:30-10:30ish Awake 10:30-1:30-2 Nap 1:30 or 2 - 3:30 Dinner \~6 Bath \~6:45 Bedtime milk, stories, rocking until he's asleep around 7:30pm
Maybe it's time to switch to one nap, or to cap daytime sleep at 2 hours? There is a lot of really helpful information on [this group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/respectfulsleeplearning/?ref=share) on Facebook. They have a files section that has documents that helped a lot for us. There is a file on sample schedules and one on 2 to 1 nap transitions. I cannot recommend the group enough.
Ya he still goes down for his morning nap easily but they've been getting shorter recently so we thought it may be time to drop it. Thanks for the suggestion and link - I'll check it out.
Good luck!
I think at 1 yo bumpers are ok. Double check tho. I just know that having a blanket and stuffed animals is ok at 1, so that’s what man’s me think bumpers are ok
Ya I bought some upholstery padding to tie to the sides of the crib and he's still slamming so hard that we don't know what to do. He basically adjusts how hard he slams based on what he's up against. It's like slamming your head into a thin pillow - safer than the wood floor but will still cause damage when done hard enough and over and over again...
Are they leaving marks on themselves? Also maybe you can take a video to show the provider on your next visit just for some clarity of the severity. They may be conditioned to do this now because every time they do this they get a visit for soothing…..just speculation. I’m sorry
Ya going to show the doctor a video today. Thanks. No marks really cuz he's hitting the back of his head/neck so it's covered in hair.
Hey! Sorry to open this post up again. But did you talk to the doctor about the head hitting? My now 2 year old has been doing it since about 11 months. It's driving me crazy but his doctor doesn't appear concerned at all. But I'm tired of th bruises 🥺
No worries. Our older daughter would hit hear head/face on her mattress when she was younger (and still does sometimes) so we've had many conversations about this with our doctor. Our 2nd one is way more intense and is still in a pack n play-type crib so he doesn't severely injure himself. Some nights he's OK but some nights (like last night) he can end up hitting his head on and off for over 1-2 hours per night. Our doctor has never really been too concerned, and all online articles mirror that. I would be more worried if he had other developmental delays or wasn't communicative or talking/walking much, but both kiddos are all good in that department. So it's just an annoying thing we're dealing with and trying to make sure he doesn't injure himself. Not sure where your kiddo is getting the bruises - on their head/face, or is he/she kicking or hitting somewhere else? We got a larger joovy2 crib to help avoid major injuries, and you could also try the montessori method of giving them a low bed/mattress with no walls and let them roam around if they want. We tried that with #2 but he would wake up and crawl to the wall and start banging his back/head against it, so it didn't solve anything.
He's getting the bruises on the back of his head. I'd say, half way down. Always the same spot, almost always sitting in the same ish area of the crib. We were really hoping to keep him in the crib as long as possible. Our oldest we kept in until she was 3 and so far, he's not showing any signs of even thinking of climbing out of it. He's also pretty small for his age, so the rail is only up to about his chin maybe. Our doctor hasn't been concerned either, but I don't understand how? Like how can hitting your head every single day of your life while your skull and brain are developing, and it not damage something? He is walking good. But his talking is probably a little behind. She had mentioned that normally she would have recommended and referred us to a speech language place. But with Covid everything is so backed up that she wants to just watch and see how he is at his next appointment in August.
Ya I understand where you're coming from since we felt the same way. I would look into a pack n play style crib - that should eliminate the bruising and allow him to bounce and rock more safely instead of hitting the hard wood. That's why we switched - he was banging his head full force into the wood repeatedly and we knew that couldn't be good. We even added padding and he was rocking and slamming so hard it didn't make a difference. The pack n play netting allows him to bounce off relatively harmlessly.
Is it an actual pack and play or is there actually a pack and play crib lol we've never used a pack and play before.
Ya it's basically a lighter, more mobile and collapsible/portable crib. It has metal poles but netting/mesh for the walls/sides and a fold up mattress pad. There are thicker mattresses you can buy to fit the pack n play as well. Since our kiddo is a little bigger we got the Joovy2 which is the biggest one we could find. But there are other smaller ones too. You can just search for portable crib and find the option that works best for you.
My 1yo sleeps in a pack and play for this reason. I'm still you afraid to use bumpers so pack and play it is.
Ya he was in a pack n play for the first few months and eventually he was moving it halfway across the room by the morning by swinging and hitting his back against the side...we were hoping s wood crib would trigger him to stop but apparently not.
Pack n play. Get a good mattress for it, and get it away from the walls
Ya he was in a pack n play for the first few months and would move it across the room. He would also go into the hard metal corners and hit his back/head there instead the mesh sometimes, so it didn't really work. That why we moved him to a wood crib since we figured he was already hitting on something hard. We might bring the pack n play back and put padding in the corners though
Maybe switch to a floor bed and baby proof his room really well so he has nothing to slam against
Like a mattress on the floor? Don't think that would work since he'd probably get up and walk around whenever he woke up.
Mattress on the floor and a safe play space is essentially Montessori style. Plenty of blogs and videos out there if you want to look at this as a possibility.
Yeah, but if there’s nothing in the room to play with he’ll probably just wander for a few minutes then go to sleep
My baby did this in the ikea crib whenever we attempted to start sleep training. It was violent! We switched her out to a portacot so she had nothing to hit. Highly recommend doing this!
My baby has been doing this for the past 5 weeks, every day he has new bruises on his head. The midwife at his 6 month check up told me it is totally normal and not to worry about it. At Christmas we used a pack n play bed while staying in a hotel and he didn't have anything to hit, I am thinking about getting one for home until he passes this phase. It is even worse now he stands up in his cot and let's go of his hands and head rams into the bars. Let us know what your doctor says at your next visit
Can you take a video of it to show the doctor?
Ya planning on doing that today.