Infants as young as nine months old prefer individuals who are nice to people like them and mean to people who aren't like them, according to a new study published in
Fear of strangers is very common. It happens as your baby develops a healthy attachment to familiar people – like you. Because babies prefer familiar adults, they might react to strangers by crying or fussing, going very quiet, looking fearful or hiding.
If your baby appears to hate certain people, is most likely just developmental, meaning she will grow out of. You're little one is learning to trust herself and protect herself from those she doesn't feel comfortable around.
According to researchers at Yale University's Infant Cognition Center, also known as “The Baby Lab,” babies can actually tell good from evil, even as young as 3 months old.
Stranger anxiety, explained
Babies can become very clingy and anxious around new and even familiar people and may cry if suddenly approached by a stranger. While it may be cringe-inducing for you as a parent, it's actually a very normal part of your baby's development.
They Are Trying to Communicate
As early as three months, babies learn to recognize their parents or primary caregivers. And there staring is their way to communicate. Babies can't quite interact yet for the first few months, so their staring is their way of communicating with you.
Babies are also naturally drawn to and will tend to stare more at attractive faces. For babies, this means symmetrical faces with balanced features. However, very distinct facial features might also catch your baby's eye. They may stare more at someone with colorful hair, a bushy beard, or other interesting features.
Infants as young as nine months old prefer individuals who are nice to people like them and mean to people who aren't like them, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Study Shows Babies Know When You're Angry and Want to Appease You. Research has found that babies don't easily forget seeing anger-prone behavior in adults, even if that behavior is directed at someone else. Medically reviewed by Janet Taylor, M.D.
The attractiveness effect can be demonstrated even in newborn infants, is orientation dependent, occurring for upright but not inverted faces (Slater, Quinn, Hayes & Brown, 2000), and is driven by the internal features of faces (Slater, Bremner, Johnson, Sherwood, Hayes & Brown, 2000).
If your baby doesn't seem to miss you or want you to hold them, you might feel they don't like you. In some cases, it could be an issue called Reactive Attachment Disorder. This condition occurs when a baby misses the critical early bonding time with their mother or caregivers.
In fact, it's actually quite common for babies and toddlers to pick a favorite parent or caregiver—and for that preference to switch back and forth over time. Read on to learn more about why babies sometimes show a preference for one parent and what to do if it happens to you.
Babies form their main attachments to the people who care for them most – especially their parents. Your baby can also form attachments to other people who regularly and lovingly care for your baby and make them feel safe. These people might include your baby's grandparents, paid carers and older children.
Relax, it's normal. If baby cries with others (or with anyone but mom), it may be due to attachment, says Webb. Babies often see their primary caregiver as a “home base” of sorts, she explains, and they are only comfortable exploring the world when mom or dad is around.
Only between about 3 and 7 months of age do babies start to show a strong preference or attachment for mothers, fathers or members of their own family in general.
As a newborn, babies have no sense of themselves as individuals. Your baby thinks that the two of you are one and doesn't realize that the tiny hands and feet waving before them are their own.
“For instance, a baby may not remember explicitly the time they were yelled at in the kitchen booster seat when they were 6 months old, but their body remembers the way it recoiled, the way it pumped blood to increase oxygen to the muscles in response to feeling unsafe,” Keith explains.
Yelling makes the baby afraid and nervous, wounds and inhibits his feelings, and, later on, his confidence. It can be very damaging, especially when parents begin shouting at the infant when he is little. On the other hand, parents yell at each other and do as much harm as yelling at the baby.
Parents should try to refrain from arguing around a baby.
High stress can impact the development of the emotional parts of the brain. A baby can detect anger in a voice as early as 5 months. Parental arguing causes stress in the baby, elevating their heart rate and increasing their blood pressure.
Studies suggest that babies do not always prefer female faces, but, in fact, show a strong preference for human faces of the same gender as the primary caregiver. Since most babies are primarily cared for by females, most babies prefer to look at female faces.
This means your baby is making many new eye connections, taking in the environment, and understanding many new things. All of this can be very overwhelming and over stimulating for littles that have just spent 9 months in a dark quiet womb.
When children like some people more than others, it's not really because those people are more trustworthy; it's because like everyone else, children gravitate towards people who are happy and confident. People who believe they are attractive are usually more happy and confident.
So your baby should be able to make and maintain eye contact with you by 9 weeks old. But when it comes to the ceiling specifically, there might be some contrast there that interests them, like the light fixture or a shadow. "Newborns and infants are visually attracted to stark contrast.
When they feel that they need a break from too many sights and sounds, they may look away. As they get older, their whole head may turn from you. Do not feel rejected when your baby looks away; this is a normal part of your baby's development and one way for them to control how aroused or excited they become.
"Infants and toddlers not making eye contact could indicate an issue with eye or brain development," said Dr. Kulich. "A regression of eye contact is an indication to parents that they need an evaluation from their doctor.