Babies stare at attractive faces because these faces often possess symmetrical and average features, which are easier for their developing brains to process, acting as a built-in guide to identify healthy caregivers and learn about the world. This innate preference isn't just about "beauty" but about finding patterns, helping them learn language, recognize familiar faces, and develop social skills from birth, suggesting beauty has a biological basis beyond cultural learning.
According to The Guardian, babies as young as six months can distinguish between good and bad people. The news outlet reported on a study done by Yale University, which stated that this ability provided a great evolutionary advantage in the long run.
Rather, the initial settings of our perceptual system push infants to look at some entities (attractive faces) more than others (unattractive faces) because of a family of preferred perceptual features that includes but may not be limited to particular features such as large eyes (Geldart, Maurer & Carney, 1999) and ...
By staring at your face, your baby is basically downloading data on how humans work. This early people-watching helps them start recognising emotions, reading social cues, and eventually understanding language.
Head-butting when angry, particularly with reference to babies, is a reactive reflex. Most baby head-butting occurs at a stage of life when there are limited motor skills, and the baby uses whatever mode of emotional outlet is available, usually in crawl stance on a crib headboard.
The most frequent signs of giftedness found in this study included long attention span, excellent memory, early and extensive vocabulary development, curiosity, early reading ability, rapidity of learning, and the ability to generalize concepts (See Table 1).
There's an old wives' tale that says if your child starts doing the downward dog pose and looks through their legs, it could mean you're pregnant. They might even be “looking” for their new sibling before you know about it! While this is just a fun myth, the pose itself is great for your child.
Several previous experiments have found that infants 2 months of age and older will spend more time looking at attractive faces when these are shown paired with faces judged by adults to be unattractive.
Separation anxiety, on the other hand, can cause much longer phases of clinginess. According to the AAP, many children begin having some feelings of separation anxiety around the time they're 8 months old, with the phase peaking between 10 and 18 months and mostly resolving by the time a child turns 2.
Your baby shows love and trust by recognizing and interacting with you. Babies express affection through smiles, eye contact, and imitating your actions. It's normal for babies to feel distress when you leave because they've formed a strong bond with you.
Science shows that if a baby stares at you, you just might be very attractive. In a clinical trial, infants as early as two hours after they were born will stare longer at an attractive face than they will at an unattractive phase.
The first three months with your baby often seem the hardest. Sleep-deprived parents can feel overwhelmed, but that is normal and you will quickly learn how to read your baby's cues and personality. Don't worry about “spoiling” your baby at this stage.
A number of studies have demonstrated that infants display a robust preference for facial attractiveness, preferring to look at physically attractive faces versus less attractive faces as judged by adults.
The "3-3-3 Rule" for kids is a simple mindfulness technique to manage anxiety by grounding them in the present moment: first, name three things they can see; next, identify three sounds they hear; and finally, move three different parts of their body. This engages their senses, shifts focus from worries, and helps them regain control when feeling overwhelmed, like during test anxiety or social situations.
Curiosity: “Other times, they stare to learn something new. If they've never seen someone wearing glasses, for example, they might want to look for a long time to learn something about this new thing they've not seen before.” Social interaction: “Babies often stare in the hope of getting some sort of interaction back.”
The 5-3-3 rule is a loose guideline for structuring a baby's sleep schedule: 5 hours of wake time before the first nap, 3 hours of wake time before the second nap, and 3 hours before bedtime.
The 7-7-7 rule of parenting generally refers to dedicating three daily 7-minute periods of focused, undistracted connection with your child (morning, after school, bedtime) to build strong bonds and make them feel seen and valued. A less common interpretation involves three developmental stages (0-7 years of play, 7-14 years of teaching, 14-21 years of advising), while another offers a stress-relief breathing technique (7-second inhale, hold, exhale).
Early findings suggest that having a mother's smell nearby may support sleep regulation and help babies feel more settled. Other work is examining whether items carrying a familiar scent, such as clothing or bedding, can help infants feel comforted and ease the transition from wakefulness to sleep.
So when a baby stares into your face and lingers just a little longer… it might not just be curiosity. It might be a tiny, instinctual nod to what their brain finds pleasing a first glimpse of human preference forming right before our eyes. Beauty, it seems, really is in the eye even the newborn eye of the beholder.
SIDS is less common after 8 months of age, but parents and caregivers should continue to follow safe sleep practices to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death until baby's first birthday. More than 90% of all SIDS deaths occur before 6 months of age.
Gentle touch or tickling. Babies love and crave touch, so engaging in skin-to-skin contact, cuddling, holding hands, or touching their fingers and toes are all great ways to bond. Our little ones, not only babies but toddlers, love being gently tickled and you're sure to get a smile or laugh in return.
Three times a week might be enough until your baby becomes more mobile. Bathing your baby too much can dry out your baby's skin. If you're quick and thorough with diaper changes and burp cloths, you're already cleaning the parts that need attention — the face, neck and diaper area.
The good news is, when babies look between their legs, it's typically a positive sign. This playful posture indicates healthy development and growing motor skills. It shows your child's advancing coordination and spatial awareness.
And most important, as I mentioned above, only the firstborn child can transfer her powers to the next generation. That's why Missy can do practically what she wants, even if she had a daughter, her daughter wouldn't become a witch anyway.