Why Children Need Parents To Put The Phone Down And Look Them In The Eye

It’s nearly impossible not to smile at a young baby when confronted with a toothless grin — and even a difficult day can improve when a child, unprompted, offers a wave. These connections with children are sweet and endearing, but they offer something even more important: they give them developmental skills that will help them excel later in life.

Parents may be aware of their small child’s need for interaction beginning at a young age, and research has shown that eye contact in particular is imperative for infants’ development. In a 2002 paper, researchers conducted experiments showing the importance of making eye contact with newborns. “Making eye contact is the most powerful mode of establishing a communicative link between humans,” the authors noted. “During their first year of life, infants learn rapidly that the looking behaviors of others conveys significant information.” They found that babies preferred looking at people who were making eye contact with them, noting that “[t]he exceptionally early sensitivity to mutual gaze [eye contact] … is arguably the major foundation for the later development of social skills.”