Hi mums. I'm having an issue with my 3 year old son. You know how kids throw tantrums, and they may throw themselves down on the floor to cry they're physically "hurt" for attention? My son has been doing this, but he does a few different things to actually hurt himself!
He'll lay on the ground and smash his head onto the concrete leaving an egg, he'll pull his thumb and fingers backwards overextending them, scratch himself hard with his fingernails, and he even sought out a patch of bindiis and stood in it with both feet so he could cry about bindiis in his feet! He'll do this several times a day over any little thing.
I'm concerned by this behaviour. I know a lot of kids do it, but I'm worried that he's so committed to actually hurting himself, and seeks out different ways to do it. So far I've tried talking with him about, both in a calm, rational conversation and also in a dismissive "not when you do it on purpose" type of conversation. At the moment I'm just ignoring him entirely, turning and walking away. None of these approaches have obviously worked.
Should I be worried? Is this normal behaviour for this phase? How would you tackle it, if at all?
3 Replies
I’d probably be asking my GP for a referral to a paediatrician and probably seek advice from a child psychologist.
I’d want to rule out any underlying causes I may have missed and just want confirmation I’m on the right track.
This could be just a phase, but it may not be and it takes awhile to get into see a professional. I’d rather be booked in and be able to cancel it, than chasing my tail in frustration because this phase doesn’t pass.
My daughter used to have tantrums like this. As others had expressed best to get to a gp and a paediatrician.
A huge help for her was a change in diet. - We tried this because We were at a loss on what what to do. I downloaded the chemical maze app. And thought I’d go through everything she ate the first thing We came across was a colouring which was said to cause head banging. We cut out any food with the colour and she improved. She is a teen now and I can tell by her moods if she has been eating foods that effect her moods.
Like I said though still approach gp. It helped us, but I know it won’t be a solution for everyone. And good luck with getting help, it’s a little scary to have a child who throws tantrums this way.
I couldn't write this on fb caus I'd seriously get my arse chewed!!!! I don't mean it in a bad way but me personally, I'd be doing something to shock the shit out of them to stop them from hurting them selves and then you may actually be able to talk to them.
GP 100%!!! Totally agree with that and I do think you should be concerned but ita hard to know wether a bit of old school parenting could help.
Sorry to sound horrible! I feel for you going through it. Good luck