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Sleep issues: body-rocking, head-rolling and head-banging

It’s common to see young children body-rocking, head-rolling and head-banging at bedtime or during the night. They do it because it’s rhythmic and it comforts and soothes them.

Children might:

  • get on their hands and knees and rock back and forth, hitting their foreheads on the bedhead or edges of the cot
  • sit in bed and bang their heads backwards against the bedhead
  • lie face down and bang their heads and chests into the pillow or mattress
  • lie on their backs and move their heads or bodies from side to side
  • make noises while they’re rocking.

Body-rocking often starts around 6 months of age. Head-rolling and head-banging usually start at around 9 months of age. Most children stop this behaviour by 5 years, but occasionally it keeps going after this.

Simple tips to handle body-rocking, head-rolling and head-banging at bedtime

If your child is developing well in all other ways, you might decide to put up with the body-rocking, head-rolling or head-banging. This behaviour will eventually go away.

Here are other ideas that might help:

  • Think about how long your child is spending in bed before falling asleep. Too much time awake in bed might result in head-banging and body-rocking.
  • Avoid giving the behaviour your attention. Children might behave this way more if it seems to keep you around at bedtime.
  • If your child is in a bed, remove bedside tables or other hard surfaces, and move the bed well away from walls. This will help to stop bruising or thickening of your child’s skin in the spot where they bang their head.

If your baby is in a cot, don’t use bumpers, quilts, pillows or other soft objects in or around the cot. These increase the risk of sudden unexplained death in infants (SUDI) including SIDS and fatal sleep accidents.

When to get help for rocking, rolling and banging

Head-banging might result in red marks, slight bruising or skin thickening on children’s heads. For most children, this doesn’t cause any serious or permanent injury.

But if head-banging, rocking or rolling happens a lot through the night and your child also snores, it’s a good idea to talk with your child’s GP. The GP will check for things that might be disturbing your child’s sleep, like obstructive sleep apnoea.

Also, sometimes children rock, roll and bang their heads more if they’re experiencing anxiety or stress during the day. If you’re concerned about your child’s mental health, check in with your GP.

Body-rocking and head-banging can be particularly intense in some children, including children with developmental delay, autism or blindness. These children are also more likely to rock or bang during the day. For these children, the rocking and banging can be harmful.

If you’re concerned about your child’s rocking, rolling and banging or about other areas in your child’s development, always talk to your child’s GP or child and family health nurse. It’s a good idea to take a video of the behaviour that concerns you to show the GP or nurse.

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Raising Children Network is supported by the Australian Government. Member organisations are the Parenting Research Centre and the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute with The Royal Children’s Hospital Centre for Community Child Health.

Member Organisations

  • Parenting Research Centre
  • The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne
  • Murdoch Children's Research Institute

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