Why You Should Have Lots of Eye Contact With Your Baby?

How is Eye Contact Helping Your Baby’s Development?

Throughout the first year, your baby will benefit a lot from ample eye contact. Here’s how eye contact helps your baby.

1. Eye contact helps your baby recognize you (and other caregivers). It also helps the baby associate the voice with the face.
2. Eye contact is your baby’s way to get more information and gradually develop an understanding of the outside world.
3. According to the University of Cambridge, eye contact syncs your brainwaves with the baby’s and supports communication and learning. 
4. Good eye contact also promotes the release of the hormone oxytocin which helps you bond better with your baby.
5. Your baby can feel safer and more secure with lots of eye contact.
6. As the baby grows, good eye contact also will promote good hand-eye coordination as the baby tries to touch your face.

Some Helpful Tips for Eye Contact with Your Baby

To make sure you get the best for yourself and your baby, through a healthy amount of eye contact, we have curated some tips for you.

1. Hold your baby so that her face is 8 to 15 inches away from yours. This is an ideal distance to have good eye contact. You can start doing this with your newborn, too. However, the baby will begin holding eye contact only after about six to eight weeks.
2. Talk to your baby when you hold eye contact. This helps a lot with communication and comprehension. You can also sing to your baby. Don’t forget to smile!
3. Feeding is a good time to establish eye contact. If you are breastfeeding your little one and she looks up at you, smile and hold eye contact. 
4. If your baby is looking at some other object, point to the object and name it. At around 7 months of age, babies can start making these associations where an object is named for them.
5. Babies have a short attention span. If your baby looks away, don’t worry. Speaking to her, calling her name, etc. will bring her attention back to you.
6. As the baby grows, she will start responding to you by trying to vocalize sounds. Encourage this to help her reach the ‘speaking’ milestone on time.

Watching a baby grow is a true joy. By improving your eye contact with your baby, you are not only helping her reach developmental milestones, but also creating a lasting bond with her. Remember to enjoy this phase and your baby’s smiles. They grow up too fast!

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