I have a new child in my care who likes to pull hair. HER OWN HAIR! She's a little over a year old and she is pulling her hair out in clumps. She doesn't pull the other children's hair (yet anyway). Her mom has Trichotillomania, which is the technical term for someone who pulls their own hair out. Mom wears a hat all the time to cover her bald spots and she even appears to pull out her own eyebrows. Here's what Wikkipedia says about Trichotillomania:

"Trichotillomania, a hair-pulling disorder, is a mental disorder that involves an irresistible urge to pull out hair. This behavior occurs to the point of noticeable hair loss. The most common areas for hair pulling are the scalp, eyelashes, and eyebrows, but may involve hair anywhere on the body.

Trichotillomania is a type of impulse control disorder. Impulse control disorders are mental illnesses that involve the repeated failure to resist impulses, or urges, to act in ways that are dangerous or harmful. People with these disorders know that they can hurt themselves or others by acting on the impulses, but they cannot stop themselves.

In children, trichotillomania occurs equally in males and females. In adults, it is more common in women than in men.

What Are the Symptoms of Trichotillomania?
A person with trichotillomania cannot control or resist the urge to pull out his or her body hair. Other symptoms that might occur with this disorder include:

A sense of tension before pulling hair or when trying to resist the urge to pull hair

A feeling of relief, satisfaction, and/or pleasure after acting on the impulse to pull hair

Presence of bare patches where the hair has been pulled out

Presence of other associated behaviors such as inspecting the hair root, twirling the hair, pulling the hair between the teeth, chewing on the hair, or eating hair (called trichophagia)

Many people who have trichotillomania try to deny they have a problem and may attempt to hide their hair loss by wearing hats, scarves, and false eyelashes and eyebrows."


I have talked to mom about it and she just laughs it off and says, "like mother, like daughter". I don't know what to do. Should I try stop the behavior? Redirect the activity when she starts pulling? Should I just ignore it? What would you do? Consider, mom has offered no help in the situation.

Thanks!

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