Is your baby staring at people, objects, or seemingly nothing at all?
Perhaps you’ve thought it was weird that your baby won’t look away from a stranger’s face. Or perhaps a little creepy that your baby stares at one corner of your room all the time, like s/he sees something you don’t.
There is a perfectly good reason why your little one is staring so much! In fact, it’s a sign his/her brain is developing well!
So why do babies stare? Here’s the answer!
Why Do Babies Stare at You?
You’re Beautiful
A study done by a group of university professors showed that babies often stare at people because they think they are attractive.
In the study, babies were shown two pictures: one of a person considered beautiful and one of an individual who wasn’t considered attractive. Instinctually, the babies were drawn to the beautiful faces.
It has nothing to do with society’s standards of beauty. Instead, it showed that even infants are drawn to people they found interesting to look at.
So if you catch a baby staring at you, it just may be because s/he thinks there’s something special about the way you look.
You’re Different
Do you have eyeglasses? A beard? Purple hair?
Remember that babies are new to the world. They are still learning about the world around them.
A baby might be staring at you because you have a feature s/he has never seen before! You could be fascinating to the little one.
Why do Babies Stare at Objects?
It’s Moving
Babies’ eyes are drawn to movement. That’s why they might be staring at your spinning ceiling fan or that toy you animatedly play with to make your baby smile.
In contrast, if your baby turns away from moving objects, it’s probably because s/he is processing a lot at the moment and needs to regroup.
If you are playing with your baby and s/he looks away from the moving object you are playing with, don’t force his/her attention back on the toy. Give your baby some time to regroup.
There are Contrasting Colors
Babies’ eyes are drawn to stark contrasts. If there are two contrasting colors side by side, your baby’s eyes will probably be drawn to it. It may even be something as simple as where a piece of furniture meets a wall. That may be why your baby is staring at what looks like nothing. S/He is still learning about the world, so even simple things can fascinate your infant.
Why Do Babies Stare into Space?
Their Little Brains are Developing
Just in the first ninety days of a baby’s life, their brains will grow by 64%! This means your baby is making many new connections and understanding lots of new things. Thus, if your baby is staring into space, it’s probably because s/he’s working overtime on developing his/her mind.
Some parents worry if their baby is staring at seemingly nothing. Nonetheless, it may be a sign of their brain working extra hard!
It’s All About Development
The main reason babies stare is that their brains are developing and growing at an exponential rate. In fact, the more you play with your baby and engage with him/her, the better his/her brain will develop.
A baby exhibiting a ‘simple’ smile, a closed-mouth expression frequently seen in infants and newborns.Nov. 23, 2015 1:36 pm ET
Once upon a time, babies’ first smiles would often be dismissed as “probably just gas.”
Now, scientists know better.
There’s so much life in an infant’s eyes. They wander, emote, inquire, and smile with eyes long before baby can express themselves with motions or baby talk. They also can be, well, disconcerting. Why do babies stare at me? Decades of research suggest that the “infant gaze” is common right from birth because facial features and expressions contain a wealth of information that is important for development. They’re also how we measure the attractiveness of people and, yes, the good looking are more susceptible to long stares by babies everywhere. Do they ever get a break?
“Infants can be thought of as similar to scientists who are fascinated by their subject matter,” says Forrest Talley, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in California. “The more they study, the more knowledge they acquire. Eventually, this knowledge base allows them to expertly interact with and at least partially control the interpersonal world into which they were born.”
There’s ample evidence that babies are naturally fixated on faces. In one study, researchers showed newborns an image of a face or an image of a scrambled face. Researchers then moved the images along the newborns’ line of sight and found that they followed the images of faces longer than scrambled faces.
Another study shows that focusing on people’s faces is also how babies differentiate between their caregiver and strangers — a skill that helps them avoid dangerous situations and better protect themselves. “When infants begin to crawl, for example, they will hesitate to go further if their mother’s expression is one of alarm or fear,” says Talley.
They take environmental cues from faces, too. In a behavioral research study, toddlers showed greater fear of a toy and avoid it when their mother showed negative facial expressions. And when infants are first learning to crawl or walk, they gaze at their mothers’ facial expressions looking for the go-ahead to explore new terrain.
But why do babies stare at strangers‘ faces? Talley says it’s an adaptive response as it helps infants learn about emotions and forms a foundation for socializing and relating to others later in life.
It could also mean you’re attractive, and hard to look away from, at least according to research done by Alan Slater at the University of Exeter in the UK. For example, one of the studies he worked on found that babies as young as 4 months showed the same attractive face preferences as adults.
While the tendency to recognize faces appears innate, there’s academic debate about whether infants are born into the world with internal mental representation of a face (i.e. a template), and how detailed that template might be, says Paul Quinn, Ph.D., a psychologist at the Unviersity of Delaware who studies how infants form concepts for people, places, and things.
What is better understood is that babies see contrasting colors and are born with of 20/200 vision, so they can best recognize facial features when they’re held close to your face, the way a mother holds a baby at her breast, says Douglas Waite, M.D., developmental pediatrician at BronxCare Health System and professor of pediatrics at Mount Sinai.
Since the gaze is regarded as a normal part of development, understanding it is particularly important in the field of medicine as it can help doctors identify if there are developmental health issues.
“One of the things I always ask when I’m meeting with parents whose child has developmental issues is ‘when you were feeding them did they look at you and your eyes? When you did baby talk to them, did they smile responsively to you?’” says Waite.
The baby gaze is the beginning of attachment and the senses, like hearing and smell and vision. At two or three months of age, the absence of that can become concerning.
As such, a baby who is non-responsive to gazes may be showing early signs of an intellectual disability. So-called gaze-aversion could be an indication of a range of things — from seizure disorders, retina damage, or other developmental issues. So if your baby’s cute, or creepy, gaze toward strangers and family isn’t accompanied by an interaction like a social smile, it’s best to see a doctor and learn more.
This article was originally published on 8.14.2020
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Has a baby ever challenged you to a staring contest? OK, maybe not an official contest — but it can feel a little like it nonetheless. They’re so young, so what could possibly have them so captivated?
Or maybe you’ve noticed a baby staring into space or at something inanimate. (And don’t forget the age-old attention-stealing trick known by moms everywhere: The ceiling fan.)
These are all good signs that a baby is learning and developing their cognitive skills.
Babies go through major periods of growth within their first few months of life. They’re curious about the world, and everything is new to them. They want to interact with people and be social.
Your baby may be staring as an early form of communication between them and the huge world around them.
Here are five reasons why your baby may be staring at you or into space.
A baby may be staring at you because they think you’re beautiful. We’re not kidding!
A decades-old experiment found that newborns and young infants spent more time staring at faces that adults deemed attractive. The study consisted of images (chosen by adults) of faces that are considered beautiful and others that are considered less attractive. The results showed that the babies stared at the pictures of the “beautiful” faces longer.
We do want to add: Our features make us unique, but here at Healthline it is our firm belief that all humans are beautiful. You might have interesting or distinct facial features if you find a baby staring at you — babies have no clue what society’s standards of beauty are.
Sometimes babies gaze their eyes on an item with outstanding features such as glasses, earrings, or colorful hair. Different patterns, textures, and accessories may catch a baby’s attention. It’s important for babies to see different things while their brain is rapidly growing.
Babies typically start to catch on to movement by around 3 months old. This may cause them to space out and stare. You may notice this if you take them outside or have a ceiling fan.
Sensory movement is a key part of helping babies’ brains develop. This is one reason why mobiles are so effective — they can have an almost hypnotizing effect. That said, you may notice your baby sometimes turning away from moving objects if they need to refocus their attention.
A part of vision development in babies and young children is the introduction to bright colors. Different color categories that contrast each other are also important. You may notice your baby staring at something as simple as furniture or books if the colors draw their attention.
Babies develop many different skills within their first years of life. Sometimes a baby staring might mean that they’re working extra hard to get their brain developed and growing.
A child’s brain is already 90 percent developed by the time they reach 6 years old. Babies can learn so much by simply observing the environment that they are in.
You’ll notice a lot of changes in your baby’s personality within their first year. Babies observe everything around them, and staring is one piece of evidence that their brain is working hard to grow.
As always, if you have any concerns about your baby’s staring — or any behavior — consult your pediatrician.