Hits Herself In The Head When She's Tired

Join Us On Facebook! | CONTACT | BABY BLOG | HOME |

Hits Herself In The Head When She's Tired

by Dee Dee
(Charleston, WV USA)

Is it normal for a baby to hit themselves in the head repeatedly when they are tired? Is this something I should be concerned about? The doctor said her ears are clear but has no answer for why she hits herself like that.

Comments for
Hits Herself In The Head When She's Tired

Click here to add your own comments

Jul 24, 2009

dont know if it is normal but...
by: Anonymous

my baby is 5 months old and hits herself in the head.... DRIVES ME NUTS!! I feel bad and that something is wrong.... I have read it is normal and I just hope it stops soon! Who knows maybe she is "special" Let's hope not and move on!

Aug 29, 2009

i hope so
by: Anonymous

my child is 11 months old and is still doing it so i hope that it's normal.

Oct 22, 2009

My 7 month old hits herself in the head too.
by: Anonymous

When I nurse my seven month old daughter, she starts hitting herself on the left side of her head, pretty hard. She is my third child and the
only one who has done this. I am hoping it will stop soon, she's been doing this now for about two weeks. My doctor thinks it could be pain from teething.

Nov 05, 2009

Mine too
by: Anonymous

My daughter is 4 months old and hits herself in the head when she is going to sleep these days...Had me worried to, but it seems to be pretty common.

Nov 09, 2009

baby hits head while nursing
by: Anonymous

I think his arm may have nowhere comfy to fall and he discovered bonking his head with it? Or maybe its from my coffee drinking or from my meds?
?

Jan 12, 2010

My baby hits herself on head when tired.
by: Riley's Mommy

Omg you do not know how happy I am to hear that your babies do this too! My daughter is 5 months old and has done this for over a month now when she is trying to fall asleep! It's really scary! I hope she grows out of it!!!

Mar 21, 2010

Wow
by: Anonymous

Thank God mine isn't the only one. My 5 month old daughter does this too and it worries me bad. She only does it when she nurses and most of those times she is extremely tired. I hope she stops soon.

Apr 12, 2010

My baby also hits herself on the head
by: Anonymous

My baby has been hitting herself on the head (and hard!) while drinking her bottle, especially she's tired and ready to go to sleep. I mentioned it to her pediatrician and she wasn't concerned. She's 9 months old now and has been doing it for a few months. I usually try to catch her hands so she hits my hands instead of her head.

May 12, 2010

I feel so much better
by: Anonymous

I thought my 14 month old had a problem. She does it all the time when feeding. I am so glad to hear she is not the only one.

May 12, 2010

Me too
by: Anonymous

My 9 month old also hits the side of her head when she is tired. I think she does it when she is struggling to fall asleep. I also think it has to do with her teething as well. Maybe somehow keeping the rhythm helps her to fall asleep and also to ignore the tooth pain.

Jul 10, 2010

head hitting
by: Anonymous

as first time grandparents we were very worried when our 6 month old grandson starting hiting his head. thank you for your re-assurance that he is not alone

Jul 14, 2010

MY BABY HITS HIS HEAD AGAINST THE PILLOW
by: Anonymous

Well, my baby is 2 years old and I'm extremely concerned about this situation. He hits his head every time he is goes to bed. He does it against the pillow, but anyways that scares me. I'm not sure if that situation can cause a brain damage

Jul 26, 2010

yup, mine too
by: Anonymous

My baby is 5 months old and just recently started bonking herself on the head while drinking her bottle, and usually she's tired. I am hoping it is related to teething pain and isn't anything to worry about. I am relieved it is so common.

Jul 30, 2010

granddaughter hitting self in head
by: Anonymous

My granddaughter is hitting her self in the head also on the left side. We all pull her hand away and so no pretty face. It is always same area of side of forehead near temple. Any other parents having the same area of head?

Aug 03, 2010

mine too!
by: Lucy

Yes. My 6 month old hits herself with left hand near left temple. We don't like it! It sound pretty common though?

Aug 12, 2010

My kids too
by: Anonymous

My 11 month old son recently started smacking the side of his head and the back of his head gently everytime I try putting him too sleep .. I was exremley scared . My three year old son bangs his head againgst a pillow everytime his about to go to sleep . And my daughter sucks her thumb. I've done alot of research and asked alot of doctors and nurse's what does that mean in my son's case and no one seem to be able to give me an answer. so i took it upon myself to research it. And it's nothing extreme. They hit their heads against pillow because it their method of rocking themselves to sleep. They smack their heads to either rock themselves to sleep and or becuse their teething . It's their way of dealing with teething and falling alsleep without the use of a pacifier. don't be scared you guys it's normal.. They will soon grow out of it.

Sep 04, 2010

thank you for this post!
by: Anonymous

I am so glad to have found this post. I've been concerned for months about my daughter hitting herself in the head - it does always seem to be when she's tired/nursing/eating. She's a year old now. I'm so glad to know I'm not alone in not only my concerns, but that my daughter's behaviour is not uncommon. :)

Sep 14, 2010

slaps face when tired
by: Anonymous

My son does the same thing. He's 13 months old and he's been doing for about 3 or 4 months now. Its so comforting to know he's not the only one doing this :-)

Sep 20, 2010

Ours just started
by: John

Our 11 month old son started hitting himself in the head before bed time while drinking a bottle. Seems like this may be a normal thing to do.

Sep 22, 2010

Another member of the club!
by: Numi-noodles

My 5 month little boy has just started too, originally though he was hitting his stomach, The doctors have told me its something they do to stimulate themselves, I'm not sure if it was a good thing or if he was implying I'm not giving him enough to do! Anyway after reading all your comments I'm not worried at all, he only does it when he is feeding and he is teething at the mo. Thanks for the reassurance! xx

Sep 30, 2010

Hitting head
by: mansfield1

My 6 1/2 month old son has been doing this for some time now. Mostly when he is tired and nursing or taking the bottle. Makes me nuts too! Glad to hear that he isn't the only one. He may be close to teething also.

Oct 15, 2010

very cool!
by: Emomma

I feel so much better after reading some of these post. My 7 month old baby girl Just started hitting herself in the head 3 days ago but only does it right before bedtime feeding. She is teething and i just recently quit breastfeeding her and put her on formula. This really gives me a peice of mind. I'm taking her to a doctor visit tmw and was gonna ask him about it and still is but not near as worried now.

Oct 23, 2010

Mine too
by: Glenda

I was concerned that this may be a sign my little girl was autistic. She mostly hits the sides of her head while nursing but there are times when she does it when she isn't nursing. She started this at 5 months and is now 9 months. I usually place my hand in the way so she can hit my hand but she will grab my hand and move it so she can do it more.. I usually will start singing a funny song that she likes and it distracts her and she forgets she was doing it. Her next checkup I'm going to mention it to the Dr so see if he can give me some answers.

Oct 28, 2010

my 9 month old too
by: Anonymous

thank goodness my 9th month old baby hits her head o n the right side repeatedly and is up a bunch of times at night she seems okay during day but does hit her head during day time too.. i am thinking it is teething
so glad others are having same issue

Nov 13, 2010

hitting herself in the head whileeating
by: Liz

My daughter is 5 and 1/2 months old and has been hitting herself in the head while she eats (a bottle) for several weeks now. She hits herself pretty hard. I try to catch her arm or put my hand on her head so she hits my hand instead. I can't figure out why she started but am hoping she'll stop. Glad to see she's not abnormal.

Dec 02, 2010

'Naughty'
by: Anonymous

My 15 month old just started doing this also. But even weirder is that every time we read Goldilocks and it says "Naughty Goldilocks ...' she does it. We have never smacked her or threatened it and she is an only child who stays at home with me full time so has had no exposure to an kind of violence from other toddlers. The only thing i can think of is that when she falls and hurts herself we say jokingly "Naughty floor/wall/whatever she hurt herself on" and give it a hit. It was meant to be a joke but now i'm feeling like i've instilled a hitting habit in her. Oh well i guess i've learnt a lesson...:(

Dec 10, 2010

Add me to the list!
by: Anonymous

My 5 1/2 month old just started doing this too. I was afraid he had "issues". It's always when nursing, and I think when he's tired also. If I try to stop his arm or block it, he'll stop nursing and fuss until I let him do it again. So now I just let him go. He's also teething, so everything above adds up. I'll still ask the pediatricain about it at his 6 mo appt just in case.

Jan 01, 2011

Punches her stomach
by: Anonymous

My 5 month old daughter always punches her stomach on her left side. it sounds like she's really hurting herself but she never cries. it happens when we change her diaper or are changing her clothes. i think she's trying to figure out all her little muscles.

Jan 25, 2011

THANK GOD...I am not alone
by: Sunshine

My daughter is 5 months, she began having seizures when she was barely 2 months old. She was diagnosed with Focal Onset Seizures in the right parietal lobe. She began hitting herself in the head with her hand during feeding, being tired, or just frustrated about 4 months. I honestly thought it was due to the medications they have her on to control her seizures. I see the neurologist this week and will ask more questions regarding this behavior, it concerns me a great deal due to her medical history.

Jan 28, 2011

Follow-up on Sunshine's post
by: Anonymous

Hi Sunshine,
Were you able to get any further information from the neurologist regarding the baby hitting herself in the head? I'm curious to see what a medical professional thinks because my daughter does the same thing.
Please post to let me know.
Thanks!

Feb 16, 2011

6 month old doing same thing!
by: Anonymous

My 6 month old daughter has been hitting herself in the head now for about a month when she is feeding and getting ready to go to sleep. As a younger baby, she would hit herself with a closed fist in the stomach during these times. I am really relieved to see that so many of you are seeing the same thing and at the same age, too! I wasn't worried about autism or anything silly like that (I am a special education teacher so we have extensive education ourselves in what those symptoms look like). However, it can be disturbing to see bc she gives herself quite the blow. We have a ton of slobber which may be the whole teething thing kicking in.

Feb 16, 2011

STILL HITTING
by: LMansfield

My son has been doing this for many months now. I thought he would grow out of it by now. He also likes to "head butt" when he is sleepy. We tell him "NO -NO", then he gets mad and starts hitting his own head. I try to put his hand/fist down when he does this, sometimes it works.

Feb 24, 2011

Suppper happy to know shes not the only one
by: Anonymous

My daughter is 6mounths an she just started doing it just like one of the other moms only when I nurse her on the right side hits her head I would have to hold her arm because she hits hard it worrys me.

Mar 07, 2011

Yes! My baby is not crazy!
by: Sonja

My girl just turned seven months and I noticed she just started hitting herself on the left side of her head. She does seem to do it when she's tired or unstimulated. I'm so happy sshe is not the only one. Now I won't worry about it anymore.

Mar 09, 2011

left side hitting his head
by: Vicky E.

OMG My son starting doing this too at 9 months old. (Just lst week ago) I asked the Dr she didn't know. I was and still am a bit worried. What if there is something wrong and he is trying to tell me? Hopefully it is teeth or tiredness

Mar 30, 2011

Mine to
by: FirstTimeDaddy

My little guy is 6 months old and has been hitting his head now for about a few weeks. However he hits his legs his mouth his cheek and his ear lol. We were concerned as well but our dr. Said he is doing great. The fact that he is teething leads us to believe that is part of it as well as he is tired dice that is when he does it the most. But as I always do and say when it comes to your little ones never take chances and alway call the dr. ;)

Apr 01, 2011

Head hitting
by: Chloe's mom

My 5 mth old baby used to hit me during breastfeeding. Now that we have started on formulas, she has been hitting her bottle during feeding. And the last few days, she has started hitting her own face. That's when i got worried.. Reading all your posts kinda comforted me but i am still wondering if this self beating (especially on the head) is harmful for them? Does anyone has any info from the doctors? Otherwise, my LO is fit and healthy. She just does this frantic thumb sucking and head hitting when she's tired or feeding... strange.

Aug 04, 2011

My baby is two now since she was 4 months she's been hitting her head
by: Anonymous

Doctors never know. My daughter is making me worried a lot from hitting her head to pulling her hair. I wonder what that means? All I know since she was born she had sleeping problem but now she's ok but would'nt stop hitting her head. Very worrying. I'm thinking to see the phycologist but I heard they are no better than doctors.

Comment by EasyBabyLife Unless your baby slaps her head throughout the day for no appearant reason and seems to be missing her milestones, you probably don't have to worry. What she does is common, and likely to level off within a year. Read about why babies hit themselves and what to do about it in this thread.

Aug 28, 2011

Relief
by: Anonymous

I am happy to know other babies do this. My 13 month old has been hitting her head when she gets angry or tired for about 3 weeks an I was worried.

Sep 28, 2011

Relieved
by: Monique

My 10 month old hits himself in the head but it's only when he's tired and usually when he actually starts falling asleep. I'm glad to know he's not the only one and it seems pretty normal.

My mother (who is Ms. Doom and Gloom) gets so worried over every little thing and it actually didn't seem too abnormal to me only because to this day I shake my leg when I get sleepy but I just wanted to be sure.

Oct 20, 2011

Hits herself in the head when she's tired
by: Anonymous

My 9 month old daughter has just started doing this when she's tired and fighting sleep. She is also teething...... apparently its normal.

Oct 22, 2011

So relieved to see how many of us are in the same boat!
by: Anonymous

Hi everyone! Our 9 month old son has started doing this within the last month, the trend is the same...tired. What a relief to know how many of us neurotic, panicking parents there are! LOL. Sounds like our kids are alright, let's hang in there and just help protect those beautiful heads of theirs! xo

Nov 07, 2011

hitting her head very hard!
by: Tatianna

My six month old hits her head very hard with a solid fist! It's been happening for two months now. And it only happens when she's going to sleep or having her bottle. She does it with her left hand and on the left side of her face. It got really red today and thats why I finally decided to look it up. The doctor said it's probaly from teething but I don't know. I feel much better to see thats its kinda normal for them when they're either tired or feeding.

Dec 20, 2011

baby hits his head when falling asleep
by: Anonymous

Oh good...it sounds like its pretty normal. My 6 month old does this too but only when he's overly tired, teething or doesn't have something in his hand. I've found that giving him a corner of a blanket or a small stuffed animal stops him from hitting. I've heard its only because they don't know how to just stop their bodies. As adults when we're exhausted we lay down and breathe out a sigh of relief, babies don't know to do that yet. I've watched my little guy just shake his blanket instead of hitting so this could be a solution for some...they may just need an outlet to get rid of the extra energy.

Jan 06, 2012

Hits right side of head
by: Anonymous

Glad to know my baby is not the only one to do this. He stopped for a few months but has started again just recently. I think he is tired and he is teething more too by the way he is chewing everything in sight.

Feb 06, 2012

Concerned mom NEW
by: Anonymous

I'm so glad I'm not the only one out there with concerns my daughter is 6 months old and hits herself in the head when she Is tired and drinking her bottle I was very worried that maybe something was wrong with her she also rocks back and forth a lot which worries me to she does it most of the time even in her high chair when I'm feeding her and is getting nose bleeds now when she sleeps too

Click here to add your own comments

Would other parents find this valuable? Share it!

Where would you like to go next?

Find more Baby Questions Answered Here...

What baby info are you looking for?

Return to Easy Baby Life Home

Join EBL Community!

New Community Members get a FREE Baby Safety Checklist right now.
Don't miss out. Join here!

Want more baby tips?

baby care newsletter Never miss a single baby tip! Get the latest news and tips for your pregnancy and baby with our monthly newsletter.
FREE Baby Care Ezine

Your Email

Your Name

Then

Don't worry -- your e-mail address is totally secure.

For more information about the ezine, click here.