My daughter holds her breathe until she passes out..,.advice?

So my daughter will hold her breathe and then pass out instantly. When she is told “no” or something is taken from her. Her pediatrician said my daughter would grow out of this by 18 months and she is just being dramatic. Well my daughter is over 18 months now and still doing it. Is it just her being dramatic? Or is this something serious? She just won’t let out a cry and just holds it all like she’s about to let out her cry but then just passed out and her eyes go to the back of her head. Just looking to see if anyone has experienced this with their kid too.

10 Likes

My son used to do that. My dr. Said just make sure that they don’t get hurt falling but when they come to don’t be fussing about it. He actually told me to go sit away from him and when he realizes that he isn’t getting the attention that he wants he will quit. And it worked.

5 Likes

I did the same thing as a child. I still do it, without realizing I’m doing it. My Dr said it’s anxiety

1 Like

My sister used to do this. She did it till she was 4 I believe. Mom would get a glass of water and throw it in her face to catch her breathe. It worked. Every single time. It sounds mean. I even told her so. I was 7 at the time. I even begged her not to. But , she said if I don’t she will pass out and she can’t keep doing that. This is saving her. Not harming her. Sister learned that was no way to get what she wanted. She needs to be shocked into taking a breathe. She can harm her brain otherwise.

Yes :+1:/ I blew in his face and he sucked in the air and then cried . It was from anxiety over motion and other things . He is 31 now and still has anxiety . This is what he did as a baby

1 Like

My 5 year old just stopped doing this in the past couple of months. Granted he is autistic and very limited in communication so when he is told no, he’s very much like a 1 year old in that he doesn’t understand why he can’t do or have that. So long as it’s only when faced with being told no and you are there to catch her, I wouldn’t worry too much. Once they pass out their nervous system kicks in and makes them breathe again. I did find that blowing on his face and lifting his arms up above his head helped a lot of the times.

It’s attention seeking its what you do when she does it that matters like do you give back what’s been taken off her or never say no. Don’t give in to it either blow in her face or squirt water in it to startle her she will soon stop.

When my son did it blowing on him definitely was a much better solution.

1 Like

My son banged his head on the floor …. Hard! He eventually stopped

Apparently it’s pretty common. We found blowing in their face when it’s about to happen and adjusting the way/tone we said no while still being firm with the boundary helped avoid the meltdown. As everyone else has said just make sure they’re not going to get hurt, the body will recognize the lack of oxygen and force the body to take a breath again and they will come to.
It passes for most kids eventually. Hopefully it will sooner rather than later for her :pray:

1 Like

My sister did that when she was little, doc said let her she will breath as soon as she passes out.

It can be related to an iron deficiency.

Once they pass out they will start breathing. Just ignore it. It’s done for attention.

My instinct would be to make sure she’s safe then look bored or turn away. I have a child with PDA and the only way we could discipline was to give our attention and time only to good behaviour. Any bad behaviour was completely ignored (as long as they were safe!). They soon realised it had no effect so stopped.

2 Likes

My middle daughter done that as a child. Make sure she is out of harms way and ignore her. It’s her bodies instinct to breath. Our pediatrician told me to never blow in her face that it could actually mess up her lungs. They do grow out of it. My daughter is now a 26 year old Mommy.

She just being dramatic! When she does that you probably give in right? Thats why she keeps doing it! Ignore the behaviour

My sister did this I’m told, my Mother swore by blowing in their face, which makes them breathe… I guess that would be abuse somehow… but I hear she stopped…

1 Like

Blow in the nose like a candle :candle:

My cousin done that until she was 5 years old the dr told my aunt to blow in her face to make her take a breath then she would start crying.

It will pass, they’ll learn to deal with emotions another way as the grow, my son did this a few times during a tantrum. Just keep an eye on them and let them ride it out.

I wouldn’t recommend the s ,but when my niece did this years ago her mom had a glass of water close by and threw it in her face,after about three times of doing this she stopped

Ignore her. Walk away. My #2 would hold his breath and fall on the floor. He turned purple once! I walked away and ignored him. Solved that problem.

1 Like