Sometimes you feel like you’re drowning.  Your kid comes to you in the middle of the night crying because they’ve pulled again and they’re scared.  Scared of themselves.  Your heart is shattering into tiny pieces because every fibre of you wants to protect them - that’s your one job, right? But how do you protect someone from themselves?  

That tiny person you brought into this world (if you’re lucky, but you get my drift) is looking to you for answers and you haven’t got any.  You can go on a late night trawl of the web finding information and things that worked for others, or didn’t, but nothing seems to be working for your child and INFORMATION OVERLOAD, right?

It is okay not to have all the answers.  You can be a good enough parent (hell, even an EXCELLENT one) and have your child still pick at their skin or pull out their eyelashes.  This is not on you and you may have to accept, many, many times over, that there is not a great deal you can do about it.  

When your child tells you that they have pulled again, that is a TRIUMPH.  They trust you and can open up to you.  How many times have you gone to someone with a problem, not for a solution, but just to feel heard?

In this situation, stay quiet as much as possible, with soothing noises, and let the child draw his or her comfort from you.  This isn't a time for direction, but affection.  Later, you can address getting them help or check out our techniques to help child stop hair pulling.