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Social & Emotional Development
Developing Relationships with Peers & Adults
WiseTip: SE-REL-M0003-G01A

Look at and talk to your baby while breastfeeding.

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  1. Zero to Three. (2019). Early Literacy: Retrieved from: https://www.zerotothree.org/early-learning/early-literacy

0-3 months
Caregiving
WHY IT MATTERS

Infants seek eye contact in social situations. Four-week-old infants can seek eye contact during nursing. Receiving eye contact increases the effectiveness of sucrose delivery on quieting.

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  1. Zeifman D, Delaney S, Blass EM. (1996). Sweet taste, looking and calm in two- and four-week-old infants: The eyes have it. Developmental Psychology.;32:1090–1099. (Level IV)
From 9 weeks, infants fixate more consistently on a caregiver's eyes when she is speaking to them than when she is silent.
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  1. Haith MM, Bergman T, Moore MJ. Eye contact and face scanning in early infancy. (1977) Science. Nov 25; 198(4319):853-5. (Level IV)

Direct eye contact also influences young infants' social engagement. From 3 months, infants smile in response to eye contact and decrease smiling when a partner's gaze is averted.

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  1. Hains SMH, Muir DW. Infant sensitivity to adult eye direction. (1996). Child Development, 67:1940–51 (Level IV)
At 4 months, eye contact enhances face recognition
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  1. Farroni T, Csibra G, Simion F, Johnson MH. (2002). Eye contact detection in humans from birth. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. 2002;99(14):9602–9605. (Level III)
 and engages neural areas associated with processing adults' communicative signals.
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  1. Grossmann T, Johnson MH, Lloyd-Fox S, Blasi A, Deligianni F, Elwell C, Csibra G. (2008). Early cortical specialization for face-to-face communication in human infants. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London B.;275:2803–2811.

Looking at babies and responding sensitively to meet their needs helps them build

secure attachments

Secure Attachment - The infants use the parent as a secure base. When separated, they may or may not cry, but if they do, it is because the parent is absent, and they prefer her to the stranger. When the parent returns, they actively seek contact, and their crying is reduced immediately.1

1. Berk, L. E. (2013). Child development (9th ed.). New Jersey, USA: Pearson Education.

to their caregivers. This sense of security helps babies develop the confidence to relate better to others as they grow.

Talking calmly and responsively to babies helps build brain architecture and enhances their relationship with their mothers.

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  1. Shonkoff, J., & Phillips, D., (Eds.). (2000). From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development. Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development, Board on Children, Youth, and Families. National Research Council. (Level III)

  2. Vandell, D. L., & Wilson, K. S. (1987). Infants’ Interactions with Mother, Sibling, and Peer: Contrasts and Relations between Interaction System. Child Development, 58(1), 176. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130299 (Level IV)