A mum who came up with a plan to try and get her little boy to stop playing with her hair found it backfired after he became attached to the 'creepy' mannequin head she gave him and refuses to go anywhere without it.
Ilarni Clark used to let her son Harry, 14-months, play with her hair to help him drift off to sleep, however as he got older, he started to pull on her hair and she developed headaches as a result.
Looking for a solution to the problem, Ilarni posted on social media to ask for suggestions and was contacted by a trainee hairdresser who said she had a spare doll's head with hair a similar length and colour to hers.
Advert
Seems like the perfect idea, yeah? Except adorable little Harry quickly became obsessed with the doll's head and now he won't sleep, eat or leave the house without it.
Ilarni, from Sunderland, said: "It started because Harry wouldn't settle unless he was twiddling with my hair. He's done it since he was a baby.
"I couldn't leave him with his dad because he doesn't have any hair to play with and he just wouldn't sleep at all.
"A week ago I put something on Facebook saying I needed some help because I constantly had a headache and couldn't sleep because he was pulling my hair out in the night.
Advert
"People commented on Facebook and said to get a Baby Annabelle or some extensions, but I didn't think it would work.
Advert
"Then one of my friends who's a hairdressing trainee messaged me saying she had a spare hairdressing doll if I wanted to try it.
"The doll hair is the same colour and same length as my hair. I don't think he notices it's any different.
"He took to it straight away. He absolutely loves it. Then it started getting weirder."
Advert
Ilarni, who lives with partner Callum Mackay, said the doll's head had managed to freak her out on more than one occasion and that it doesn't look like Harry will be willing to give it up anytime soon.
She added: "In our bed, there's me, Callum, Harry - and the doll's head. It has given me a few frights in the middle of night.
"For the first couple of nights I shouted 'Callum, there's someone in the room!' We've both done it.
"He carries it around everywhere he goes. He won't eat his breakfast or his meals unless the doll is with him.
Advert
"We went to go to town and I said, 'come on, we'll go in the car' and he was halfway through the door with it.
"I refused to take the doll's head with me, and he had an absolute meltdown and screamed. I had to distract him with something else.
"I've gone over and given the doll a kiss by accident instead of Harry. It takes about half an hour to get back to sleep because you get such a shock."
Thankfully, it seems as the doll head is having a positve influence on Harry and he was able to fall asleep without having to be rocked.
"At the weekend, my partner's mum rang me and he'd fallen asleep on his own," she added. "He's never done that.
"I normally have to rock his pram to go to sleep. He needs to be moving to sleep normally.
"I've tried everything to get him to fall asleep on his own, but yesterday he got on the sofa, got his doll head and fell asleep for an hour and a half.
"This is the secret - get a creepy hairdressing doll.
"He does normally sleep through the night, but last night he was a nightmare.
"I took the doll head off him because I don't let him sleep with it while I'm asleep in case the hair goes round his neck. He woke up and noticed, then screamed for about three hours."