Your bundle of joy is finally in your arms – you’re probably wondering whether or not your little one recognises you! The babies are naturally drawn towards faces, and they prefer to observe human faces over other things.
Babies Recognise Their Mom First
A newborn baby feels more comfortable around the mother because not only is the mother’s scent and voice familiar, but the baby also sees more of her all through the day. In most cases, a baby gets to be with the mother a lot more than other members of the family, which is why babies recognise their mothers first. By the time a baby turns three months old and can distinguish between various faces, she may become wary of strangers and unknown faces.
When Do Babies Start to Recognise Their Fathers ?
There are no studies that analyse when babies start to recognise their fathers. However, it is believed that babies do respond and recognise their father’s voice from the womb. For this very reason, many doctors highly recommended that the would-be-dads talk to their babies when in the womb. Babies are born with blurry vision, and by the time they are a few weeks old (in most cases by the time babies turn two) they are most likely to recognise both their parents’ faces.
Determining When a Baby Begins to Identify People
A baby can recognise her parents’ faces fairly early. But it takes a couple of months or a year to get familiar with other family members and close friends. The baby may familiarise herself with family members she sees regularly quicker as compared to distant relatives who do not visit often.
What About Looks When It Comes to Recognizing People ?
Just the way adults find good-looking people more attractive, babies also find beautiful people more appealing. You may find your baby staring or looking longer at faces that she may find more attractive than others. This is because babies are also fascinated by certain kinds of faces.
Effects of Unfamiliar Faces
You may experience that your baby is happy and playful in your or your family’s company, but behaves erratically in front of strangers. This is because your baby feels comfortable and cosy with familiar faces and is wary of unfamiliar faces.
Things to Remember
Babies are born with the innate quality of bonding with people. Though there is no scientific evidence to prove that, it is certain that babies recognise people much quicker than they recognise places – this happens because their vision is still developing. By 3-4 months of age, a baby recognises the parents, and the vision keeps improving with each passing month. If you notice that your baby is not recognising people and places by 4 months of age, you may want to mention it to your paediatrician.
If you are first-time parents, you may desperately want to know when your baby will be able to recognise you.
The best thing that you can do as a parent is to have patience. By the time she is a few months old, you will see your bundle of joy smiling at you!