Post by countthestars on Oct 11, 2015 11:16:34 GMT -5
Me!! DD used to twirl her hair into knots until it fell out . It sounds like your DD is doing something similar. Someone here recommended getting a doll with hair for DD to twirl. We tried and it didn't work for us, but I wish I had gotten a doll with yarn hair and not a crappy fake hair one. Another thing that helped was using conditioner (either in the tub or spray in) because her hair wouldn't tangle as easily.
I will say that she still twirls her hair but it doesn't fall out any more. I'm not sure if it's stronger or the conditioner or something else but it doesn't seem to knot as easily.
Good luck! It was so frustrating for me (and her hair is still not beautiful lol) but it definitely improved quickly!
Eta: it probably started for us around a year and got better in 6-9 months.
Post by matildasun on Oct 11, 2015 11:50:15 GMT -5
A started pulling hers out when she started pre-k last fall. Within two weeks she had almost pulled the entire back part out. We ended up cutting it in a pixie cut, not to stop her, but because it was the only way to even it out. It did also stop her because she was no longer able to twist it.
Have you tried giving her something else that is soft to rub? We had a little luck with that. We also found giving her something to chew, like a teething ring or chew beads helped to replace that behavior.
I am sorry you are going through this. It is so heartbreaking and disturbing to watch them, and really have no way to stop it. Many hugs to you both.
Post by karinothing on Oct 11, 2015 11:55:23 GMT -5
DS1 does this all the time to soothe. But he is a boy and we keep it short so he only has a mini bald spot. He has done it since he very young and still does it at 4.
Post by TrudyCampbell on Oct 11, 2015 16:07:39 GMT -5
My daughter did this and possibly would still do it, we aren't sure because we still put socks on her hands to sleep (she's nearly 3.5). Socks worked for us, we usually do two pairs, one under her long sleeved pjs and one on top. Now she's so used to the socks that she actually asks for them. She never pulled her hair in front of us, only in the crib or in the car seat before she fell asleep.
I'm sorry you're dealing with this. It was/is a major source of anxiety for me. I hope you guys can figure something out or that she grows out of it ASAP.
Post by TrudyCampbell on Oct 11, 2015 17:38:55 GMT -5
We use gap boot socks (the ones meant to show a little over your boots) and when they're pulled up high under her pjs with another pair on top she really can't get them off. She probably *could* but she doesn't try. I know I should do a trial without the socks to see if she still has this habit, but I just can't because my anxiety over it is too great. Her hair is short to begin with and I can't handle her losing any. I totally understand being upset over the cosmetic aspect.
My DD is in preschool now and actually takes a bus both ways, and she wears socks on her hands on the bus because I had a breakdown thinking about how everyday I would be wondering and worrying if she was going to pull her hair without me there to watch her. Almost nothing stresses me out more than her hair pulling, I just can't get past it.
My DS did this so it probably doesn't help you too much. He had longer curly hair. We had to cut it short so he couldn't curl it. We told him once he stopped curling and pulling out we would let it grow longer again.
Post by water*drop on Oct 11, 2015 18:43:55 GMT -5
DD did this, though maybe not to that extent. She still twirls her hair as a soothing mechanism, but she's figured out how to twirl without tying it in knots. She rarely managed to pull the knots out when she was doing it all the time, so she had a lot of breakage but not bald spots. It looked awful. We loaded up on conditioner and detangler to try to minimize knots and talked a lot about it being okay to twirl, but try not to tie knots AND yell for us if there is a knot so we can help rather than her try to yank it out. That was actually probably the most helpful, even though it sucked to have her calling for us at 3am to get the knot out of her hair. At almost 3.5, she still asks me to leave her hair at least half down so she can twirl it, but at least she's pretty good about not knotting it now.
TrudyCampbell, she woke up this morning with the socks still on!! she was all smiles and said "mommy! no bad!" this am (which honestly broke my heart). thank you so much for the suggestion of putting them hiiiiiigh under her pj arms. I hope this is the first of many identical nights.
Yes!!! I just came back here hoping for this update! I really hope this continues to work for you!