Sensory toys

Can anyone recommend any sensory things to help my boy stop touching my hair🫠 He’s 3 and is obsessed with rubbing his hands in my hair and his younger cousins hair. He constantly comes over and pulls it or rubbing his hands in it & it drives me insane. I’ve explained to him that I don’t like it and to stop doing it. But obviously as he’s 3, he does not give one single f**k! He has always played with his own hair when he’s tired or bored. Google says it’s a stimming thing but I just want him to stop touching my head😭 I’ve told him off 4 times in the past 10 minutes, and I’m sick of saying the same thing over and over again.

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What about a rag doll with lots of fabric hair? We have a few bonnika dolls that have cute hair to twiddle with

Do you know what the function of the behaviour is? Eg: is it the feel of your hair, is it the visual of it ‘swishing’, is it the reaction he gets when he touches it etc. Depending on the function will depend on the replacement. So if it’s the touch maybe try a dolls hairdressing head or wig, they could also work for visual as well as things like curtain ties (like the old fashioned dangly ones). If it’s the reaction it might be an idea to try and break the cycle. I work with SEND children and in the past have worn caps / shower caps / swimming caps / changed the style of my hair eg wearing it in a bun instead of ponytail etc to lessen temptation and break the cycle - which can take a while but has had a high success rate xxx

I worked with a boy like this! We just gave him some slthicjer styled string and he picked it to smaller strands that he loved! Obviously don’t leave him alone with it like!

@Sarah didn’t even think of this! Thank you x

@Louise he does it when he’s excited I’ve noticed. We was watching the grinch this morning (he is obsessed), and he kept doing it over and over again to the point I had to move away from him. He even does it when my hair is tied up so I feel like I can’t win. I’m going to try and get a doll/teddy with hair and see if that makes a difference. Thank you! X

I got real hair extensions from Amazon. He slept through the night since the day I got them as he touches my hair all day. I don’t mind the comfort thing as it makes him happy. Maybe you could do the same? I have one in our bed, one in the pram, one in the car seat etc Fabric/fake hair doesn’t work, needs to be the real thing so costs around £30 ish

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