A phase

Any time one of our kids does something we aren't fond of, we try to think of it as a phase that will pass soon.  Perhaps that means we're in denial - if so, oh well, it works for us.

Lately, our phase has been head banging and hitting themselves in the head.  Yup, I said them - plural.  Liam started hitting himself or banging his head on the floor when he was almost a year.  I asked about it at his one year check-up and our doctor reassured me that it was a tantrum and had the very technical medical name of head-banging.  She encouraged us to ignore the behavior and it would pass.

Since Karsten is completely immersed in the terrible threes, he's been hearing the word 'no' a lot more lately. He's also spent his fair share of time in timeout when he makes poor choices.  Lately, he has chosen to express his frustration and anger by hitting himself or banging his head on the floor - just like Liam.  Monkey see, monkey do!  I knew Liam would spend a lot of time imitating Karsten, I hadn't counted on it going both ways!

I called the doctor and she eased my concerns that this was just a phase and he was trying out a new way to express his frustration. For now, we'll continue to try remind him of all the cool things that big boys get to do that babies can't do.  This too shall pass...