For the last few weeks, DS has been either pinching, slapping his own head, or hitting his head on the floor. After he does one of these things, he looks at me and says, "owe". Then comes over to me for comfort. Mind you, he's not doing any of these thing to the point of causing injury, but I can tell it would hurt. At first, we thought he was trying to be funny (cause the kid LOVES making people laugh and he used to laugh at himself in the beginning) but now it looks like its becoming a habit and I'm getting anoid. I don't how to react so he's not encouraged to continue this. He'll be 2 in about a week so I'm wondering if this is some kind of attention grabber for him or a stage or what? Believe me, this little boy gets tons of attention already from everyone cause he is such a ham. So, I haven't a clue what's going on.

Hi Israel
Both my boys went through that, the difference between them was for one it didn't seem to hurt but for the other one it did! I think that if it seems like he is just doing it for attention then I wouldn't make a big deal out of it as he will figure out it hurts and also if he doesn't get the reaction he is hoping for then he will stop too!
For my other son who has autism it was definitely a sensory issue, but I think you would know the difference!
I guess i would just be vigilant if you notice any other things developmentally that he is doing that seem unusual maybe you can write it down and if your still concerned you could maybe talk to his ped.

I don't know if that helps or not! My youngest who does not have autism did the same thing and he outgrew it fast as it hurt and he realized he was not going to get any attention for it! Just keep an eye on things as you dont want him to hurt himself. E ( who has autism) has a very high pain tolerance and so that did become a concern for us when he would hit his head etc.

Hope this helps!

I also wanted to add if you notice him doing it at other times when your not watching or he isn't aware you are there then there could be other concerns!
Take note of when he is doing what else is going on at that time? For example is he playing, is he mad, frustrated etc. time of transition?

sorry I need to go but I wnated to share that too

both my kids went through a short phase where they banged their forehead against the wall... they quit when they realized they could really hurt themselves, lol. He could just be conducting scientific experiments. with my kids, I found ignoring them and not rushing over to provide sympathy when they were hurt like that sped the process along since that way I wasn't encouraging that kind of behavior by giving it my attention. It was only a couple weeks before they gave it up and moved on to other things. When our kids do weird things like that we just chalk it up to experimenting with the world around them (after all they dont' know until they try! they have to learn somehow).

josh went through a LONG phase of doing that. probably about a year. I would tell him "no you don't get kisses, you did that yourself so kiss it yourself" that actually worked better for us then ignoring it which is what we tried first. It is probably just a phase (a break your heart one) but I am sure once he realizes it isn't getting the reaction HE is after he will stop doing it. But like Jayne said make sure there isn't anything else underlying also.

My youngest Aidan is like that. He gets mad and will slam his head on the floor or wall. He did it once in front of the doc, rubbed his head, decided he didn't do it hard enough, and hit it again! The Dr. just said don't give in to him, I was like duh! Baby #4 I think I know that much by now! lol He still does it but isn't as bad as he was.

Iam not sure hun, i know my eldest used to hit her head against the wall in temper and then cry cos it hurt lol (sorry that's mean hehe) but she soon stopped and i just ignored her , i am sure it is just a faze ((hugs)) i know it can be annoying and frustrating , hang in there.

My Helen would do it out of anger, when she wouldn't get her way, and at about that age. It was a real trial for us. We responded with discipline, but it was because it was an act of defiance... i wouldn't know how to handle it as just an attention getter, I think I'd have to be going through it to know. Hhmm...

Maybe if you ignored him, and didn't comfort him for it? If he's seeking attention, don't give it to him, and he'll stop?? Maybe instead of poo-pooing the action, you can just redirect him into doing something else? Maybe while he's doing it? You could gently break in and say, "Now that's not very nice/sweet... why don't we go color-play-something." I have no idea. Hope he grows out of this quickly for you~

Great pointers, everyone! I will definitely put your ideas into action asap! Thanks a bunch!