Here is the explanation:
Small children have various strange habits. Most of these behaviors are harmless and laughable after a few years.
But some habits, like twirling your hair, can make you worry. Although hair twirling is often a harmful addictive that’s on its own, if it disrupts your child’s regular activities or he develops baldness because of it, it’s time to take action.
What do we mean by “hair spinning”?
At bedtime or during times of stress, some young children develop a ritual of twirling their hair. Hair twirling falls under the category of self-soothing activities, such as head banging, hair pulling, thumb sucking, and rocking. Yes, some of these activities seem strange and may even seem painful, but they are actually a way for some children to release pent-up energy and tension.
Hair twirling is usually less harmful to your child, this can cause temporary damage to your child’s hair over time.
Why do toddlers twirl their hair?
Not surprisingly, hair-twisting often happens at night, when it’s time for kids to start winding down. This self-soothing behavior can also serve as your toddler’s coping mechanism for the stressors in his life.
Big changes like a new baby brother or sister, weaning, moving to a new home, or a new childcare routine can all trigger hair-twisting and other self-soothing behaviors. And some young children twist their hair simply because they are bored.
Rarely, hair spinning can be a symptom of conditions such as autism, anxiety, OCD and ADHD. However, hair turning – without any other symptoms – it’s not a diagnosis.
What to do about hair loss or damage from hair rotation
Most of the time, hair twisting is completely harmless. However, it can become a problem when you notice that your kid hair has damaged ends.
The good news: This damage isn’t permanent as long as your child can kick the habit. It will just take some time to grow back. In the meantime, you can help her soften the spin with the tactics listed below.
Tips for dealing with your child’s hair-twisting habit
If your toddler’s hair-twirling habit has resulted in hair damage or loss, you may be wondering how to help.
Here’s what to try:
- Because hair twirling is often a calming technique, negative feedback or putting too much pressure on children to stop twirling can make the behavior worse. So leave it, but be careful not to break your hair.
- If you judge that it’s stress, provide lots of hugs and love, some undivided attention, and relaxing activities to reduce his tension.
- Give your child a different outlet for pent-up energy by diverting the activity from hair twirling to something else.
- If you guess your child is struggling with big changes in their daily routine, counter the chaos with a calming ritual. Toddlers find comfort in the predictability of a regular bedtime routine.
- A shorter hairstyle can be a lot less tempting to twirl. If your child has already damaged their hair, this is also a good way to even things out.
When to call a doctor
There are a few important signals that it’s time to call the doctor : If the behavior continues, your toddler is unsociable or doesn’t like to be touched. Also, if there are signs of hair loss or you notice that your toddler is actually pulling out their hair or eyelashes.
Most of the time, however, the hair-twirling behavior gradually goes away on its own, just like thumb-sucking and those other cute but curious toddler habits.
