Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84 SMI; site sun.uucp Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!oliveb!Glacier!decwrl!sun!phanes From: phanes@sun.uucp (Pam Hanes) Newsgroups: net.kids Subject: Head-Banging Message-ID: <2948@sun.uucp> Date: Tue, 29-Oct-85 20:33:09 EST Article-I.D.: sun.2948 Posted: Tue Oct 29 20:33:09 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 2-Nov-85 03:39:35 EST Distribution: net Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc. Lines: 31 This message is in response to a previous letter that was sent in by a parent whose child was banging his/her head against hard objects. Since I have no children of my own, I deleated the message and kept my comments to myself. After many days of deliberation, I have decided to post this in hopes that the person involved will take it into consideration anyway. My husband, as a child, also displayed this type of behavior; banging his head against walls, wood floors, chairs, ect. (he now sports a nice dent in his upper forehead from it). His mother told me that he generally did this when he was upset, usually mad, at something (read-someone). She felt that he did this because he knew that it was wrong to hit Mommy, sisters, ect. when he was upset so he did something that he knew would catch their attention and hurt them without actually touching them (pretty deep psychology here I know, but she does have five kids). Try as she might, nothing seemed to prevent him from doing this. She started placing a pillow between his head and whatever he was banging against to prevent any injury, and around age 2 he stopped this behavior all together. I know that this is not much of a solution, but she seemed to think that by putting the pillow down and walking away, he was not getting the negative at- tention he was receiving before, and found other ways of dealing with his emotions. I hope this information is of some use or comfort to you and I wish you the best in dealing with this problem. -Pamela Hanes "...and some people kiss cows..."