No matter how hard the parents try to prepare for the birth of the baby, it is simply impossible to be 100% prepared for various situations. And therefore, when a child begins to behave strangely , it sometimes causes panic and a lack of understanding of what is happening.
Often such a nuisance is a situation when a child bangs his head on various objects, whether it be the floor, sofa, wall or something else. Finding the cause of this behavior can be difficult. We will try to understand together why the baby behaves this way and what to do in a similar situation.
What is important to remember
No need to be afraid of what is happening. Remember - a child will never harm himself consciously. A scratch and a bruise - this is the maximum that can happen to a baby if he bangs his head on something.
It is also important to remember that there can be many reasons for the appearance of such behavior, therefore, an approach to each baby needs an individual.
Consider the main reasons why the child bangs his head.
Attempted manipulation
Each parent must remember that sooner or later the child begins to test his parents for strength and observe their behavior. The most difficult age in this case is from 1 year to 3 years. A child may begin to bang his head on hard surfaces in order to achieve something. Not willing to eat soup? He wants to play with knives, but mom doesn't? Dad doesn't buy the toy he likes? All this can cause the child to begin to behave strangely and seeks to harm himself.
Before starting “self-punishment”, some children try to scare parents with a warning that they will now scream and bang their heads.
What to do in such a situation? The most important rule is not to succumb to provocation. You should not follow the child’s lead, otherwise the habit of knocking your head on solid objects will remain with him until you wean this peculiar method of manipulation from it.
Emotional disruptions in public places
It happens that a child begins a tantrum in a public place. He falls to the floor, screams, beats his head and hands on the floor. The situation is quite similar to the previous one, however, there is another reason why the child, psyche, beats his head - auto-aggression.
Psychologists call this term the desire of the baby to throw out his aggression and discontent on the parent, in the case when he can not get what he wants.
In this case, you need to cope with the child in several ways. If a child has a tantrum in a crowded place, you need to pay minimal attention to his behavior and pretend that you are leaving.
How to react?
In this case, the most difficult thing is not to react to the behavior of others and the words of grandmothers about how bad you are. Everything is quite simple. When the child sees that his methods do not work for you, he will calm down and quickly run after the parent.
When the baby stopped hysteria and was able to calm down, try to talk with him. Explain that you understand his desires and feelings, but you cannot always fulfill his requirements. Suggest an alternative. For example, if a child bangs his head at home, wanting to go for a walk at a time when you have no opportunity, offer him another task - to play with toys, watch cartoons or draw.
Gradually, the child will get used to agreeing with his parents and stop making tantrums.
Attempt to get attention
Beyond the bustle of working days, we don’t notice how sometimes the child lacks attention. Therefore, the ritual of “banging” one’s head against solid objects can be a kind of attempt to attract attention. At such moments, the baby may not be upset, not cry or try to make a tantrum, or even vice versa - smile and look at the parent with interest. Thus, he again checks the reaction of his loved ones.
Sometimes a child can punish himself in this way for any offenses that he is aware of, trying to attract the attention of his parents, who may feel sorry for him.
Your task in this case is again simple - not to pay attention. In such situations, the child knocks on the back of the head not very hard, which will not bring him any harm. But still, if you notice that the child bangs his head against the wall, distract him - play with him toys, hug, kiss and stroke. Children are very acutely aware of a lack of attention and this must be replenished.
Desire to sleep
But not always attempts to hit the head mean the mercenary goals of the baby. It happens that after a busy day the child bangs his head on the floor. Thus, he tries to relax in order to fall asleep.
Also, such behavior can signal that the child has increased intracranial pressure. In such situations, the baby will not always have a headache, therefore, he will be able to tell you about poor health only in a peculiar way.
Pay attention to the child when he begins to swing. Usually such movements have a strict rhythm. This helps the baby relax and sleep faster.
To cope with this problem, it is necessary to help the child relax. Make a warm bath with soothing herbs and oils. 15-20 minutes of bathing will be enough to calm the child. After water procedures, do a massage, tell a fairy tale - all this contributes to good sleep.
Inflammation and disease
The situation is more complicated in a situation where a child bows his head against the wall and floor due to pain. It can be a toothache, otitis media or colds. Sometimes even a slight discomfort makes your child moody, because the child, knocking his head, tries to weaken the discomfort and distract from them.
In addition, this behavior has more distant roots - when the baby was still a newborn, his mother rocked him in her arms, in a stroller or crib. All this is subconsciously associated in the child with sedation, because he repeats the swaying.
To cope with this problem is possible only through a doctor. If you already know the cause of the ailment and the disease itself, the child can be given prescribed medications and sedatives.
Despair
Imagine a situation: a child, collecting a constructor or puzzles, begins to freak out, scream or cry. A natural question arises - why does a child bang its head on the floor when it freaks out?
This is a natural occurrence in the event of failure. If a child is unable to do something on his own, he does not understand why he cannot complete the task on his own. At such moments, the baby can beat his fists on the head.
You need to solve this problem correctly. Sit with your child, help him complete the task. Explain why he could not cope on his own, teach him how to do it right. Calm the child, tell me that the first time it’s not working correctly even with you.
In this case, the behavior of the child cannot be ignored, because it will not stop, but only worsen.
Search for faces
From a very early age, the child begins to know himself and the world around him. Acquainted with pain, the baby begins to know its facets. First, he experiments on soft objects, controlling strength. Gradually, interest can turn to harder objects and increased strength. Such interest may be the reason why the child bangs his head against the wall.
No need to be scared of this. Remember that the child is simply experimenting and learning about himself. In such a situation, he will not inflict excessive pain on himself, since having reached the verge when it becomes unpleasant, the child will stop doing this and will lose interest in this occupation. Therefore, from the side of the parent, only monitoring is necessary so that the baby does not accidentally hurt himself, but it is not worth interfering in this process.
The tense situation in the family
Unfortunately, everything is not always calm inside the family. And now it’s not about ordinary quarrels that happen from time to time in every house, but about situations where relations between a man and a woman are aggravated every day.
Such behavior of parents creates an extremely unfavorable atmosphere within the family, into which the baby involuntarily falls. Often a child beats his head from helplessness and the inability to change the situation. He sees that something incomprehensible and terrible is happening between his only loved ones, which the baby cannot influence.
If the child bangs his head on the floor, this may indicate that he is trying to distract his parents to himself, thereby reconciling them. Such behavior can often be even unconscious. Also, such behavior can occur due to excessively mental overstrain.
What to do if the child bangs his head? You must remember that no quarrels and misunderstandings should occur under him, because regular scandals, screams, and worse - breaking dishes and other aggressive behavior excessively affect the baby’s fragile psyche. And if mom and dad can reconcile after a couple of hours, then the imprint of what happened will certainly remain on the psyche of the child, and sometimes only a specialist can fix it.
Some tips
To summarize all of the above, let's highlight a few basic tips that you need to follow for your child’s mental and physical health:
- Never scold the baby for banging his head on hard objects, whatever the reason for his behavior. Keep calm and prudence in any situation, because if you break, you will not lead to anything good.
- Always watch your child. Even in moments when the child is pursuing selfish goals, and you pretend that you do not pay attention to him, try to monitor his actions. To a greater extent, this is necessary in order to understand the true cause of behavior. Some points must be noted immediately in order to have time to prevent serious consequences.
- It is important to understand that such behavior occurs in 20% of children aged one to seven years. Many parents often ask such questions - "The child is one year old, bangs his head on the floor, is it worth it to worry about?" At this age, worry about the baby is not worth it. But if such behavior persists in a child over the age of 7 years, it is necessary to pay attention to this.
- If the parent understands that the reason for the strange behavior is not in the vagaries, then the first doctors to visit should be a neurologist and an osteopath. These specialists can determine the true cause of problems with the baby, since in childhood you can notice problems in the cervical region, which affect the flow of oxygen to the brain. Often this causes the child to hit hard surfaces.
- Give your baby more attention. Whatever the true reason for the child’s behavior, try to show him more love and understanding. At an early age, children are sensitive to the mood of their parents. Hug your child once again, kiss, say kind words. Spend more time with your family and you will notice how many problems with the child will be solved.
That's all. Now you are sufficiently aware of the problem that each child may encounter. Do not be afraid of difficulties and remember, education is not an easy task, but any problem can be solved, most importantly, not to let it go by its own accord.