Children Hair Pulling – What To Do?

By far the most common question people ask me here is what to do about children hair pulling. I can understand how it must be shocking for parents to see their child pulling out their own hair, especially if it results in noticeable bald spots. I’m not a medical expert, but from my own experience pulling from the age of 10 here’s a few things that would have helped me:

NOTE: If you are new to the site, please note the term for hair pulling is ‘trichotillomania’.

1) Don’t Say ‘Stop Pulling’ – Trichotillomania is compulsive in it’s nature. You can tell someone to stop, and they can really want to stop, but they just might not be able to. In the case of a child this can become even more difficult as they might not understand at all what they are doing. If they are very young then they probably won’t even notice any damage it’s doing.

Instead of telling the child off you can try talking to them about pulling hair and how they should try not to. But don’t threaten them with saying things like their hair will never grow back, or they’ll get in trouble. It just won’t help.

2) Visiting a Doctor – It is natural to want to get help from your doctor when it comes to a condition like this. If my child had trichotillomania then I would. And you should certainly get professional advice rather than simply relying on my opinion. However, just be prepared to explain trichotillomania as a condition. Some doctors won’t understand, and they’ll write it off as something completely unrelated (attention-seeking for example). Just keep trying and you should find someoneto help.

3) Gently Encourage Them to Stop – You can do small things to help them stop. For example, hold their hand when they start to fiddle with their hair or pull. Or you can get them some nice hats to wear, even some gloves. This might not cure the condition but it could help.

4) Wait – If your child is very young then it’s likely they’ll grow out of trichotillomania. A lot of young children do this all on their own. I’ve read about this happening, though I can’t tell you exactly why. Just know that if your child has bald patches and stops pulling then the hair will eventually grow back fine.

Remember, hair pulling in children isn’t dangerous unless they eat the hair.

5) Understand – The hardest thing for me, and it’s still hard to think about, was the fact that my parents didn’t understand. I can’t blame them, because they just don’t know what trichotillomania is. If you’re already reading this then I know you’re already trying to understand. Children hair pulling from around puberty may never stop. Don’t look at this as a weakness in your child. It’s just something they do, and if you understand you’ll make things a lot easier for them.

I probably haven’t covered everything here. Just email me and ask if you would like to know anything else! You can read a little more information by clicking here.