8 Month Old Shaking Her Head NO

She is just exploring what her body can do. She is probably also enjoying what you are doing. I taught my kids to wiggle their tongues back and forth when they were that little. They were the life of the party most of the time because everyone thought it was so funny. By no means was it a sign of disrespect. It was just silly fun watching their little tongues move back and forth. I don't think you have anything to worry about. It is a good thing she is mimic what she sees.

Hi M.! I have a son who is almost 1 1/2 years old. He shakes his head all the time, he has been doing this for a couple of months now. Every time shakes his head he laughs and thinks it is so funny. So I do it right back and laugh with him.
I wouldn't worry about thinking it is not normal, from other Mom's they say their children do the same. Don't shake your head to long with her --- the dizziness will get to you :)

Sounds pretty normal to me. Start nodding and saying yes and see if she doesn't pick that up too.

If she does this while lifting the fingers to one or both ears she probably has a problem in the ear, like infection or pressure. Let's say she is playing on the floor by herself and not truly making eye contact with anyone and she reaches with fingers pointed upward for the ear, but never really touches it, and then shakes her head. That could be something to check.
If however, she does this shaking mainly when she is looking at you, she is probably just wanting to "play and learn" with you. Watch to see how much she does it when not interacting with you. TLB

Hi M. sounds like you have a beautiful normal 8 month old. She is possibly just learning to shake her head and it feels funny or good to her, she might even be playing a game with you. Oh how I remember when our kids were that age. Just enjoy her and don't worry about the little things. Have a good time.

M.,
I'm the mother of four children ages 9,8,8,& 5. My oldest did the exact same thing when he was a baby. He did it because he like the feel of getting dizzy. He thought it was fun.

Its simple, she does it because it feels neat.

Try it! Take away all of your mature knowledge and just focus on the "abnormal" feeling you get when you shake your head. Its the same sort of fascination (sp?) that comes with being upside down at this age. Its totally normal. It just feels different than her every day being so she's going to continue to do it until the novelty of it wears off.

That is so normal. I am a mother of three beautiful children and all three of them were/is doing this. My seven month old daughter does it when she feels that she dosen't like what you are doing to her. so there is no need to really worry about this little problem.

This is one of my favorite phases. I'm one of those mom's who's always stressing out and can't relax, but for some reason when babies start shaking their heads, I get all goofy and start doing it back! It's fun and it feels good and it's one in a long line of steps they must take to learn how their bodies work. Try it, it's fun! It's like dancing for your brain!

Hi M.,

shaking her head at this age to me seems very normal. I am a mother of 2 boys grades 3 and 6.
My friend's baby girl who is 8-9 months old, shook her head "no" at me when i tried to pick her up.
I thought she looked really cute!!!

I miss the baby stage sooooo much!! Enjoy it M.!!
R

Perfectly normal!!!! It's fun to get that spinning feeling when you shake your head back and forth really fast. When you do it back, she's imitating you..it's a game. And a REALLY fun game too! Imitating Mommy is fun! My dd is 2 and she still likes to imitate me. Some days she'll follow right behind me and do exactly what I do. Enjoy it!

My son did it from about 7 months until 10 or so. He would do it hard and then laugh. It was kind of that head shake you get when you take a shot of strong whiskey you hate. He would dip his chin and shake his head then look up and smile. He didn't do it to say "no", but if you said "no no no" he's shake his head.
It's TOTALLY normal:) Try teaching yes. It's WAY cuter because when they are learning, they use their whole body to try to nod!

my daughter started doing the same thing around that age. i was given two different answer when asked why. some people and websites said that children sometiems do that because it helps them cope with pain (such as teething) and others told me that sometimes children do it just becvause they have just learned that they can and it gives them a sneation they're not used to and they are just exploring that feeling. i do want to mention that my daughter did it for months and now that she is about 13 months old she has pretty much stopped. she does not have any delays or any thing else that causes me any concerns. i wouldn't worry about it, but at her nine month check up you can mention it and if she shows any other signs of pain like maybe an ear infection you could call your doc or have it checked out. again, i wouldn't really worry about it.

my son did the same thing. he shook his head when he heard music. he still does it on a regular basis. i know that lots of moms worry about it in regards to autism. my dr told me he was just trying to tell me he hears the music. nothing to worry about.

Shaking her head is normal. Whenever an infant learns something new they seem to do it all the time for a while. Then they learn another neat trick and are on to something else. I have never heard or seen shaking of the head being a sign of ear infection so I think you're ok there. Next time she does it, try shaking your head yes instead. See how she reacts. They learn by watching others. Try different things. You'll be surprised what she'll pick up. Have fun with it.