I was right – schools are closed Tuesday AND Wednesday. I think they actually could’ve gone, well, if a dang snowplow ever came down our road, maybe with just a two hour delay tomorrow. But now the weather guys are saying the next storm, due tomorrow at noon, is going to dump another 10-20 inches on us. I swear, we’re quickly surpassing Snowmagedden and moving on to the Snowpocalypse. Anyway, I’m sick of talking about snow and I’m sure you guys are sick of reading about it too.
So instead, you can all give me your professional opinions (AKA: Parent-educated Guesses) on something that has perplexed me for the last three years. It’s this:

It’s a little hard to tell from this picture, but this is an example of something that Zeeb does ALL. THE. TIME. No, it’s not playing chess (or “Chest” as Zeeb calls it). It’s his head. He tilts it. Not just a little, like when you’re thinking a deep thought. A lot. One side or the other, he doesn’t seem to favor the left or the right. And sometimes he tilts it so far his head is resting on his shoulder – or he’ll let his noggin plop down on the couch or table.
I know from pictures we have that Zeeb has been doing this since he was a toddler, maybe even before. When we first got Zeeb he did it so much, and especially when we were watching TV, so that we were absolutely convinced that something was wrong with his eyes. Like they didn’t focus right or something. But we’ve had multiple doctors, including a pediatric eye specialist, check him out and everyone agrees his eyes work just fine.
The eye doctor said maybe it was “chiropractic.” I took that to mean his head was too heavy for his little body and his neck got tired sometimes. Not for nothing but when Zeeb was younger his sweet little head was kind of disproportionate from his body. (Not in a “uh oh somethings wrong” way … just, you know, on the big side.) But now I think his body has caught up and everything is pretty proportionate. But he still does the tilting thing constantly.
I don’t know why, but it really bugs me. It just looks odd. Like really odd. So I find myself “reminding” him to pop his head back up, saying things like “Zeeb! Head!” Which probably isn’t fantastic for his ego in the long run. I think at this point it’s something of an ingrained habit, so I’m not even sure how to change the behavior. And I’m still wondering if there’s an actual physical reason why he does it.
My latest theory is maybe it’s a hearing thing. Doctors have commented that Zeeb has a LOT of earwax (like so much you can’t get an accurate read with an ear thermometer) so I wonder if maybe he tilts to hear better? Is that weird? Anyway, I figured I’d get some of that ear wax clearing stuff and see if it helped any. Anyone know of a good kind/brand?
And now, in desperation, I’m putting this out to you, my internetty friends. Any thoughts on the cause of the head tilt? And am I a horrid mother for putting this on the internet? What can I say, I clearly have way too much time on my hands right now, what with being snowbound for an eternity and a half and all. Humor me.
February 8, 2010 at 9:14 pm
maybe torticollis? basically a tightening of the neck muscles on one side more than another…it can be genetic, but also it can be a developmental thing. I read that it can be common in children who have lived in orphanages as babies. Basically if there was a window or a point of interest that the babies enjoyed looking at they would always have their heads tilted to one side, and since they couldn’t move around a whole lot on their own, the muscles on one side of the neck become stronger and overdeveloped….
maybe?
February 8, 2010 at 10:33 pm
my best guess would be habit – i wouldn’t think it would be tightening of the muscles if he doesn’t favor one side.
the earwax thing strikes me as funny, because 2 of my kids have LOTS of earwax. i’ve never used any wax dissolver though.
hope y’all get some warmer weather soon!
February 9, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Take this list with a grain of salt – as you know the internet is full of crazy stuff. But here is a link that lists common causes of head tilt. Several do relate to the ear- so may be worth checking out.
http://symptoms.wrongdiagnosis.com/cosymptoms/head-tilt-in-children-desc.htm
February 9, 2010 at 3:08 pm
Hmmmm….I am a bit of a former head-tilter as a child. Also had a very weird habit of drinking from a cup on only one side of my mouth which would leave a really strong, one sided kool-aid mustache!
To this day, I often retake photos because when I smile I have the tendency to put my head waaaaay far over to one side and it looks ridiculous.
Don’t have a clue why Zeeb may do this, but I seem to have done/do this for no real reason!
And FWIW…my son who has a hearing loss – a really uneven hearing loss! – isn’t a head tilter at all.
That was all probably really unhelpful, but it’s starting to snow here too!
February 9, 2010 at 3:09 pm
I saw a case like this on some freak medical show. I can’t even remember what it turned out to be but I think they looked into freak vision issues and also hearing issues, like equilibrium/vertigo issues.
Also I also thought torticollis.
Probably, though, it’s just habit. Because boys seem to develop the most annoying habits. Maybe it is abandonment/orphanage behavior (I know he wasn’t in an orphanage…you know what I mean). Like he found it comforting as a baby – maybe because he DID have torticollis at the time – and it stuck. Do you notice if he does it more often when he’s tired or stressed or any extreme emotion?
February 11, 2010 at 6:30 pm
Have you mentioned it to his pediatrician? I always seem to forget to bring things up if I do not write them down ahead of time. If it is just a habit rather than a medical problem, maybe you could break him of the habit by putting him in a soft neck collar like they put on whiplash victims.
February 15, 2010 at 12:15 am
Midge had very mild torticollis when she was born (the ped said since she was basically sidewise throughout the entire pregnancy her head was probably stuck on . . . my liver? Something like that, anyway) but there was a definite one-sidedness to it. As far as cleaning out ears, we just use hydrogen peroxide every now and then. It seems to work, but who knows? Our current pediatrician apparently doesn’t tell us when the kids’ ears are full of “junk.” No, we have to go to a specialist to be told that.
February 16, 2012 at 11:46 am
[...] you remember the head tilting thing? I think we might finally have stumbled onto the answer. And guess what? I was right all along. It [...]