Young child pulling hair out

Could they afford private education for her?
She may well be very bored at her current school.

She may have started to pull out her hair through boredom, and now it "feels nice" to her, ie she finds it "comforting"?

Just my first thought.

kidshealth.org/en/teens/trichotillomania.html
You may well have seen thisunruffled but it gives a name to the condition. I taught a 6 year old who developed it when there was an awful lot of turbulence in his home life, his twin sister went on to do the same thing, but that may have been imitation.
It only stopped when life became more tranquil for them. Not suggesting that this is the case for your GD, but article I've linked to does suggest causes like frustration. If a change of school not viable and a lot of children do take time to settle in school, then maybe intellectually challenging out of school activities may help?

Purpledaffodil is right I've heard of that condition too, but it's unusual in such a young child.
I hope the GP can find a source of help.
Some children are naturally more sensitive than others.

ps it seems to have become a habit, perhaps like thumb-sucking or nail-biting.

She sounds as if she could be anxious and this is how it is manifesting itself; she won't play with the others because you say she wants to 'dictate' the game but she may want to join in but isn't sure how. They may be bullying a bit, being unkind because she is very clever therefore they see her as different.

Children can be unkind if they think that one child is cleverer, better at something than they are, has been picked for a plum part in the school play etc.

I don't think it is that rare although I could be wrong; some training I did many years ago (40+ years ago now) linked anxiety etc with hair, strange as it may seem; pulling it out, chopping it off etc.

I hope the school can help, they should be keeping an eye open for bullying or for a child who is being sidelined.

Dictating the game and wanting others to follow can be - and I stress can be a symptom of ASD. Also anxiety. I have no wish to diagnose your DGD with this just mention it as a thought.

Embarrassed to admit that I did this from early Y7 to adulthood when it gradually tailed off. It was only a few years ago that I realised that I was bullied at school, she became head girl ...

If your granddaughter is doing this at night, it might be that she is tired and it soothes her. The longer her hair, the more it comforts her to pull it, although cutting it short is probably not an option. Did she used to pull her mother's hair as a baby/toddler? It is quite common and doesn't usually mean anything sinister.

You say the school is also shocked about this, but could the teachers maybe throw more light on her behaviour? I'm know nothing about their policies, but as an educationalist I can say that singling out any child because she is a prodigy or a total dimwit at that young age is probably making her very anxious. Why can't she complete the usual assessments in reading and writing along with all the others and just achieve top marks? No need to make a big fuss. Once you start setting any child apart from her peers, for whatever reason, she will have anxieties. (For example, many start having toileting problems.)

I used to pull my hair out when I was a child unruffled.

I do remember one of DD's little friends always wanted to be in charge and dictate the games. All the other children were quite compliant and did as they were told.
Apart from mine.
They are both now teachers.
not sure whether that has any significance.

Is there any chance that she may be being bullied at school? You say she is very bright, and likes to be 'a chief and not an indian' in the school playground, so she may well be talking herself into difficult situations and not be able to cope with the outcome.
I do so hope that her parents can get to the bottom of her unhappiness.

Thanks so much for your responses. There is no evidence of bullying (her 7 year old brother at the same school says he hasn't seen any in the playground other than the playing issue, and teachers have not noted anything)but of course that doesn't mean it's not happening. I agree it must be hard to be singled out and she is not backward in coming forward about her achievements. It's good to hear people grow out of it - I also think it's become a habit. I'm sure her parents will consider another school/private school if that proves to be a solution. I appreciate your comments - thanks

My son did this but was associated with glue ear. For a few years he would have an airstrip on his head through the summer, have grommets fitted in the autumn and he was much happier and his hair would grow back until the deafness crept up in the spring. He was always a hair twiddler for comfort but the yanking out grew as his frustration with deafness grew. He was too young to realise all this but a very deep child so it took a while for me to work out. He is 28 now and his lovely black hair is his crowning glory but get her hearing checked I suggest

Please don't consider moving her to another school ....she seems happy and achieving and that could really really unsettle her and make it worse She appears to be happy and included so to her that could be a enormous disruption even seen as a punishment taking her away from her brother and friends

I d perhaps put her hair up in a pony not have it hanging around her face, (if it is) gently move her hand when you see her doing it and distract her..... If you have already talked to her about it ....start some kind of a star chart with a weekly prize if she doesn't pull any hair out If she's highly intelligent she will enjoy this challenge and you can make it as adventurous as you can it doesn't have to be a plain old star chart

I d say the biggest thing is not to make a big hooha about it

I agree with Bluebelle . it sounds more like a habit she has got into to self sooth due to anxiety, some children are naturally more sensitive and anxious just like some are more outgoing -we are all different . Tie her hair back day and night and a reward at the end of each week if she hasn`t pulled any hair out . I would not move her schools either , that in itself is very anxiety making for a young child . Of my own GC the one who is very bright is the one who is most sensitive, he has on occasion cut his own hair ! My own Mum pulled her hair out , she was very unhappily married and I think it was due to her own anxiety . Hair pulling didn`t have a name in those days !

I would not be in a hurry to get this behaviour labelled as a disorder ( someone has suggested ASD further up this thread) If she is managing in other areas of her life the last thing she needs is to be labelled with a disorder because of one behaviour . See the thread Labelling of children !! xx

I think it is very early days for teachers to single her out as very advanced because she is way ahead of others in reading and writing. They all move at different paces at different times and someone who suddenly grasps reading may streak ahead if her in something else.
They must have someone on playground duty who could encourage them to play together. Friendships ebb and flow with little girls especially. Can her DP invite some of the others for tea, perhaps one at a time so that she can make some friendships?

I remember chopping my hair randomly and DD chopping the sides off hers with her little scissors. DGD used to chew the sides of her lovely hair until it was ragged when she first started school but she doesn't do it now she is a bit older.

As someone else suggested, keep it tied back or in plaits.

I used to wrap my hair round and round my finger and enjoyed the feeling of it coming away in my hand. I think it was a control thing and the more I was told off for doing it, the more I did it. I used to examine the little roots on the end and imagined planting them to see if they would grow. I must've grown out of it eventually but then took to hacking great lumps off with the kitchen scissors.

I also remember my mam pinning me down and shaving my hair off with his electric razor. I was probably about 5. My mum later told me it was because I kicked up a fuss at the hairdressers and showed her up.

Correction. My mum pinned me down while my dad shaved my hair with his electric razor.

I think it might well be a sign of anxiety and a form of self-harm which needs to be addressed. It might also be worth looking into an assessment for autism, although it sounds as if your granddaughter may be at the high-functioning end of the spectrum. We had a similar manifestation with one of our daughters who used to pull out her eyelashes and was very anxious - many years later she was diagnosed as autistic. Girls are very good at disguising autism and develop coping strategies.

I agree it is a form of "self harm" probably triggered by anxiety acanthus but why is everything now a "sign of autism"?

I think parents should certainly go ahead with a GP visit and, preferably, a referral to psychological services. However, having said that, try to see it as being on a continuum of behaviour. We all have 'habits', particularly as children e.g. nail-biting, and it usually fades out, so try not to catastrophise about it. I would be concerned about peer relations, and this would be something to talk to a psychologist about. If the school are concerned about her, they can put her on the list for discussion with their Educational Psychologist, and you can suggest that. I would beware of anyone labelling your granddaughter super-bright as these expectations can turn around and bite you!

My DD did the same, also aged 5 or 6 years. It is a way of coping with stress, apparently. Very distressing for all concerned. Our GP wasn't much help but DD did grow out of it by the age of 7 or so.

I would suggest that she's given an IQ test because it's possible that stress is being caused by not being able to use all her abilities to their full potential

My DD pulled her hair out when she was two or three, the health visitor and I came to the conclusion it was frustration, she was very bright but physically incapable of performing what she wanted to do. When I showed her how to write it stopped overnight.