When do Babies Make Eye Contact and How Parents Can Encourage

Each stage of development in babies is a euphoric moment for the parents. Be it the cute smile that plays on their lips when they are trying to amuse them or the moment when babies utter their first word, these milestones are truly treasurable for every parent.

Making eye contact is another milestone which makes the bond between parents and babies even stronger. Usually, all babies learn the skill of making eye contact more or less in a similar span. However, it might be little early or late in some cases, but that does not impact the overall development of babies.

When do Babies Start Making Eye Contact?

Every parent is eager to know that how old are when they babies start making eye contact? To those who are seeking the answer, more often, babies make their first direct eye contact during their first 6 to 8 weeks of age.

Why is Eye Contact Important?

Simply put, eye contact lets parents know that they are being recognised by their child. Moreover, it plays an important role in the emotional and intellectual development of babies, regardless to say the early bonding and attachment which gets even stronger once the babies start to make eye contact. Eye gazing also helps in gathering and analyzing information. When a baby sees his parents, he starts to relate to voices and persons, understand what a smile means and what it means to be loved.

Eye Gaze Development in Infants

In infants, eye gaze development takes place as explained below:

• Usually, babies start to take a substantial interest in their mother’s face within 7 hours after they step into this world. Moreover, they also tend to imitate the facial expressions made by their mother or caregiver.
• During first 6-8 weeks after their birth, a baby starts to intentionally direct his eyes at the mother or caregiver.
• At around the age of 3 months, a baby is capable of following the movements of the mother or caregiver.
• By the time they are 9 to 11 months of age, they master the ability to follow the actual eye gaze of an adult. At this point, they understand that what eyes are for i.e., to look and see. In some babies, this development might take a little longer so don’t panic if your baby is taking his time.

How can Parents Help their Baby to Make Eye Contact?

Eye contact between babies and their parents is a natural and cherishable moment. However, each baby has their own pace, tendencies, and needs. Hence, it’s important for a parent to understand these aspects and act accordingly. Below are few tips for parents to help their babies to make eye contact.

• Your baby is still at the developing stage and will tend to have very short eye gaze. So don’t expect him to hold a long and intense gaze.
• Be gentle when you are trying to encourage your baby to make eye contact. You can’t have him make eye contact when he is in a bad mood or is hungry; he won’t be able to focus. Instead, try encouraging him when he is calm and content.
• Another way to encourage him to make eye contact is by holding him at about 10-20 inches away from your face.
• If your baby is gazing at you out of his own volition, then take advantage of such opportunities. In this case, you may try singing, making faces, talking, etc. to him. You might feel awkward at first, but all of these get stored in your baby’s mind, and it will constructively impact his development.
• It is recommended to wait for the baby to look at his caregiver and then initiate an interaction. Ensure that you don’t look away before does.
• A mutual eye contact accompanied by touch or voice is more helpful to establish a harmonious bond between a parent and a baby.
• Pointing at an object or toy and naming it will also be helpful which will also aid in their language development.
• Don’t be disheartened if your baby is looking away from your face. It might be purely because he is tired of looking at you for the time being. Hence, understand his mood and allow him some space.

Activities that can Help Infants to Make Eye Contact

To help the baby develop his eye contact better, it’s recommended to take the baby to a doctor of optometry. Between the age of 6 and 12 months, the baby has to through his first eye examination. This is to make sure that the baby has no problems with his eyesight to begin with, such as farsightedness, astigmatism, nearsightedness etc., If any problem is found (which is a rare case) then the baby has to keep visiting the doctor for regular eye checkups for a minimum age of 3.

To help the baby improve his eye moments and therein improving his eye contact, small activities can be undertaken by the parent.

1. In the first 4 months, let the baby follow moving objects with his eyes and learn to reach out for things he finds attractive. This is to establish a solid eye-hand coordination in the baby.

2. Other activities that can help in making the baby develop his eye contact are through changing his crib’s position regularly and by changing the baby’s position in it. You could also hand an object above and outside the crib to let the baby follow it’s movement.

3. You could also try keeping some toys within the reach of the baby and at about 8 to 12 inches of the baby’s focus.

4. While feeding the baby, keep alternating the sides. Also, keep communicating with the baby whenever you are in the room. The sound can act as an catalyst for the baby’s attempt at eye contact.

Why do Babies Avoid Eye Contact?

1. It is important to remember that in their beginning months, babies can only focus up to 30 centimetres, which is ideally the distance at which they see a parent’s face when are being cradled or fed. They tend to not look anywhere other than this area.

2. If the baby is overstimulated by visual stimulus, then they tend to not have any eye contact and refuse to look altogether. At such cases, it is necessary to know how much eye contact is normal for babies. In such cases, let the baby calm down. Let him rest his eyes, by taking a nap and by not forcing it to have eye contact.

3. The baby might have perhaps gazed too long at one spot and then get shy of gazing for too long. Such babies refuse to have eye contact for some time as well.

4. Some babies tend to switch off for a particular period of time – it could be months or weeks where they refuse to have any eye contact. However, this is normal as babies tend to get excited and tired easily. They will gradually learn to maintain eye contact.

5. Unwillingness to develop and maintain eye contact is usually an early sign for autism. If the baby pursues to not develop eye contact even after 6 months, then a doctor has to be consulted immediately.

6. Other complications may also lead to refusal of maintaining eye contact. If the problem persists, visit a doctor at the earliest and take necessary steps.

It is often difficult to predict whether the baby really has any problem when it refuses to maintain eye contact. However, rather than panicking, it is recommended to deal with patience. Gradually you learn to understand your baby and develop a good relationship with them.