If your baby loves to pull your hair — hard!
- Stay calm. Any kind of reaction from you yields the effect he’s looking for; aim for a no-nonsense “no.”
- Show and tell.
- Offer a positive with the negative.
- Distract and conquer.
- Be consistent.
- Say it again.
Is it normal for toddlers to pull their hair?
Hair-pulling in the under 2s is usually a self-comfort action, often starting as twirling their hair around their fingers and only later progressing to pulling. It is often associated with thumb-sucking but can also be related to boredom: young children who pull their own hair are often very bright.
How do I stop my toddler pulling my hair for comfort?
Offer an alternate soothing object It could be anything. Stuffed animals, pacifiers, and blankies are the usual choices for soothing objects. Some moms are more creative and offer wigs and barbie dolls. Hopefully your toddler will be satisfied with the alternate soothing object and let your hair go free!
What to do about hair pulling
- Show him that it doesn’t work. One of the keys to suppressing your child’s aggression is to demonstrate convincingly that it will get him nowhere.
- Interrupt the behavior.
- Talk it out.
- Don’t pull back.
What causes kids hair pulling?
Trichotillomania can be either a simple habit, an angry protest or a sign that your child is anxious or under stress. If your child has only started pulling his hair out at school age, there may have been other causes for the problem.
How can I help my child with hair pulling?
Some doctors suggest tricks that make hair pulling more difficult, like wearing band-aids around their fingers. Kids who play with their hair after pulling it can also try carrying around other small objects to play with instead, like paperclips or erasers.
Is it normal for kids to pull hair?
Young children bite, pinch and pull hair to experiment and explore their environment. Babies put things into their mouths to explore and learn through taste and touch. At 6-12 months, biting, pinching and hair-pulling also help babies work out cause and effect. It’s a way of getting to know their world.
Things you can try yourself
- squeeze a stress ball or something similar.
- form a ball with your fist and tighten the muscles in that arm.
- use a fidget toy.
- wear a bandana or a tight fitting hat, such as a beanie.
- come up with a saying that you repeat out loud until the urge to pull passes.
What triggers trichotillomania in children?
The cause of trichotillomania is not known. For some children, trichotillomania becomes damaging and very difficult to control. Hair pulling can occur anytime but may become worse in stressful situations. Most children with trichotillomania feel shame, embarrassment or guilt about their hair loss.
Is trichotillomania a coping mechanism?
Hair pulling is a coping mechanism for stress, anxiety, boredom and other emotions. The behavior is often trancelike – characterized by a compulsive urge to pull out hair on the head, face or other parts of the body. It is a disorder medically known as trichotillomania.
Why do children pull their hair?
This is called automatic trichotillomania. Other kids with trichotillomania are aware of what they are doing. They pull because it makes them feel better or even good. Often, they wait until they are alone before they start pulling.
Why do kids develop trichotillomania?
There are indications that trichotillomania occurs because of the gratification felt from the activity. Others may simply have the urge to do it. But, another possibility is your child may be pulling their hair to cope with stress or worry.
What is the root cause of trichotillomania?
Causes of trichotillomania
your way of dealing with stress or anxiety. a chemical imbalance in the brain, similar to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) changes in hormone levels during puberty.
This chat inspired us to write down a few tips for parents with children with hair pulling, skin picking, nail biting or other BFRBs.
- Don’t say “stop it”
- Don’t stay in the dark!
- Don’t blame your kiddo.
- Don’t be preoccupied with pulling or picking.
- Don’t praise the progress.
What is the main cause of trichotillomania?
It could be: your way of dealing with stress or anxiety. a chemical imbalance in the brain, similar to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) changes in hormone levels during puberty.
Is trichotillomania caused by trauma?
We can conclude that trauma may play a role in development of both trichotillomania and skin picking. Increased duration of trichotillomania or skin picking was correlated with decreased presence of post-traumatic stress symptoms.
What are 3 symptoms of trichotillomania?
A sense of pleasure or relief after the hair is pulled. Noticeable hair loss, such as shortened hair or thinned or bald areas on the scalp or other areas of your body, including sparse or missing eyelashes or eyebrows. Preference for specific types of hair, rituals that accompany hair pulling or patterns of hair .
Is trichotillomania an OCD or anxiety?
Trichotillomania (often abbreviated as TTM) is a mental health disorder where a person compulsively pulls out or breaks their own hair. This condition falls under the classification of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Is trichotillomania a trauma response?
We can conclude that trauma may play a role in development of both trichotillomania and skin picking. Increased duration of trichotillomania or skin picking was correlated with decreased presence of post-traumatic stress symptom.
Is trichotillomania self soothing?
Trichotillomania, or compulsive hair pulling disorder, is caused by a large variety of different factors. However, most people with the disorder have a neurologically based predisposition to do it. It works as a self-soothing mechanism, helping to keep them calm when they feel stressed or anxious.
What is the psychology behind trichotillomania?
Trichotillomania can be related to emotions: Negative emotions. For many people with trichotillomania, hair pulling is a way of dealing with negative or uncomfortable feelings, such as stress, anxiety, tension, boredom, loneliness, fatigue or frustration.
What is the obsession in trichotillomania?
Trichotillomania, also known as trich, is when someone cannot resist the urge to pull out their hair. They may pull out the hair on their head or in other places, such as their eyebrows or eyelashes.