Babble

This question borders on the paranoid, but here goes.  My 7 month old little boy has discovered the "head shake".  He shakes his head back and forth, like you would when you say "no".  It's usually when he hears music, especially from a few of his musical toys.  Other times it's when you're playing with him, trying to get him to laugh, etc.  My husband is a bit neurotic and worried that it's abnormal.  I assure him that it's just experimental and probably him mimicing something that we do to get him to giggle.

Anyone else's kids do this?  I think it's his way of dancing, but I would appreciate anyone else's opinions/experiences.

Thanks!

Kimberly

My six month old son does that, too! He just started doing it and it usually happens on the changing table or when he's playing on the floor. I thought it was strange, but since he usually seems pretty happy when he's doing it, I'm not too worried. 

I'd also guess it's his form of dancing.  My daughter does more of "the twist" with her whole body, but she does it whenever she hears music or anything remotely like music.  She hears a honking horn or the dishwasher working, and she just has to give in and dance.  I'm sure your baby is just fine. 

Thanks for the replies.  for a few days, it seemed like he did it all the time!  But now it's just occasional and he also seems quite happy when he's doing it.  Now he's started either grinding or clicking his teeth together since his top two just came in!  I predict it's always going to be something to keep me guessing.

My son is 11 months now, but he's been doing this for 4-5 months.  He started doing it while he had a fever, so I complained to the doctor.  Thought he had fried his brain.  He actually did it while she was watching (so I didn't sound too insane).  Her answer was that babies do weird things.  It has gradually lessened in frequency over time, but has not disappeared.  It mostly doesn't bother me anymore.

My 5 month old son does this as well, mostly right before he falls to sleep. I assume his is trying to stay awake, it makes me laugh, reminds me of a friend I have that does that when they have had to much to drink!

Thanks,

Julian

wow!!! i did a ton of research and couldnt find ANYTHING on this behaviour!!!!  my sister in law found this and sent it to me - WHEW!!! what a relief!!! i was very concerned with my daughters head shaking to the point i thought she had some sort of neurological damage. really scary! but after reading you guys experiences i feel much better about her seemingly unique behaviour!!!  thanx a ton!!!

Thank Goodness!  My granddaughter is 7 months old and she has picked this up too!  I was really getting worried since I hadn't seen it done before.   She was getting ready for bed last night and did it again.   This makes me feel alot better that other peoples children do this also. Guess they are just learning something new.

Hi all! I know that the first baby shakes his head like a "no" shake. But my 6 month old daughter does "yes". I am freaking out about this and wondered if anyone elses baby does this shake and if theyve heard if its normal or why they do it?

I'm so glad I found this board. My 9 month old just starting shaking his head no also. I was a little concerned because for about a week he seemed to do it a lot, or more than this first time mom was comfortable with.  I even emailed a quick video clip of him doing it to my mom and she thought I was overreacting.  Now he usually does it when it is time to eat his green beans or garden vegetables or when it it nap time.

 Dont be alarmed just ask the pedi.My 7 month old daughter does the exact same thing, she shakes her head back and forth when shes tired or hears music. This is just a form of expression for babies or a way to "shake off tiredness." If your baby is hitting milestones appropriately and this activity dicipates over time you are probally just being parinoid like me, were just concerned mothers as we should be!

My baby is 7-month old and i just spoke to the peditrician regarding to the same concern--headshaking. she said it's normal if a baby has all the normal development milestones at her age, which she does. Whew! i am so glad to find this website and see other babies do the same thing like hers. 

Head shaking like a "yes" might be an infantile spasm (seizure). I encourage you to bring this up with your child's pediatrician ASAP to get it checked out. It might be nothing, but it's better to let the doctor give you feedback. Good luck!

My son, who is almost seven months has been shaking his head back and forth when I rock him at bedtime.  It looked almost abnormal because his eyes would roll back in his head a little.  He was really tired and I assumed he was fighting off sleep but in the back of my mind I could not help to think if something was wrong with him.  From the other posts it seems this could be something that starts around 6 or 7 months and is totally normal.  Thanks for all those who posted their experiences.  It has helped ease my mind.

Hi my daughter is 10 months old and her head bows and eyes roll back.  It has turned out to be a rare form of epilepsy called West Syndrome and it occurs more often when they are tired.  I dont want to worry you and there are other symptoms to it but it may be worth getting it checked out.