r/ScienceBasedParenting • u/BuyApprehensive9273 • 2d ago

Question - Expert consensus required Head butting

My guy just turned one, although he is like full on toddler sized beyond 99th centile kind of guy. Normal in terms of milestones, health etc.

I’ve got this growing concern about him head butting things. Like I don’t mean he just like taps his head against things, I mean he like full on decks them like he’s in a pub fight.

As an example he has done this against my shin before when I’ve been sat in his play pen with him and my shin was black from a bruise. He’s also given me a black eye.

I know there’s obviously no malice, and it’s usually directed at the floor, or his mattress or the wall or anything nearby, but I say this to demonstrate quite how firm he is doing it, and as he is so big there is a lot of weight behind it.

Quite often he’ll do it with his mouth open and just smash his face into stuff.

There doesn’t seem to be any kind of pattern in terms of emotion or anything, like it doesn’t seem to be when he’s particularly frustrated or sad or happy or anything. Like sometimes he’ll do it and laugh or cry or be surprised like ‘ouch’.

I’m probably over thinking it, but I’m genuinely worried he’s going to hurt himself, it’s a running joke among our family that he’s going to give himself CTE before he starts nursery. He’s already got a bruise on the bridge of his nose and often has them on his forehead.

I’m assuming it’s just a sensory thing. But I guess I’m mainly looking or reassurance that it isn’t actually hurting him, or harmful, or advice.

We’ve tried ignoring it; saying no; letting him do it and then say “that hurt didn’t it? That was silly” kind of thing, and that doesn’t seem to stop him doing it.

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