Amazing Minds by Jan Faull

Author:Jan Faull
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2010-06-23T00:00:00+00:00

Following Your Gaze

It’s between ten and eleven months of age that babies begin to follow people’s gazes. We all do it, so why wouldn’t a baby? If you’re looking out the window at the neighbor’s new car, your spouse will notice that you’re looking at something interesting and will want to see the event or object for himself. If you’re holding your baby, she’ll notice your gaze too and follow the direction in which your eyes are looking and look in the same direction to see what you’re seeing.

Realize that your baby sees you as a font of knowledge; she wants to know what you know. She realizes that where you’re looking is the window into your mind. It’s not just what you touch and where you walk that are of interest to her, but where you direct your gaze.

Babies make use of gaze following to learn words. Say you are looking out the window at the neighbor’s new car and say the word “car.” If your baby can follow your gaze to that object, he can make the connection between the word “car” and the four-wheeled object it references. If your baby is not able to follow your gaze or doesn’t yet know to do so, he would not necessarily know to what object the word “car” referred. Your baby at nine months might look at the window with you and hear you say “car,” but because at this age his gaze following is immature, he may not know exactly what it is you are looking at. As far as he can tell the word “car” could refer to anything he sees out the window—a bush, tree, driveway, sidewalk, street, or house. Beginning at about ten or eleven months, your baby will be able to follow your gaze and know what you are looking at when you say “car,” thus having an opportunity to learn the meaning of the word.

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