Think about how many of your daily interactions with others happen through eye contact and facial expressions. You and your partner may even be so attuned to these behaviours in each other that you barely need to speak to support loving mutual understanding. Your baby’s communication is strongly reliant on eye contact and facial expressions, especially in their first year. Long before you hear those first words, they use them to connect with you and other people and things in their environment.

Make eye contact

Babies learn the importance of eye contact early. They register, show interest in faces, and make eye contact with those around them.

This helps them connect with others and develop social bonds. Make eye contact with your baby to show that you are interested in and care about them. As they grow, they will start using eye contact to get your attention and direct it towards other objects that interest them. It’s just one more way for them to learn to feel safe and secure when you’re near, which will encourage them to exercise other means of communication.

Express yourself

Babies make faces, as we know. These can be the cutest, most Instagram-worthy moments in a parent's eyes, but they’re also great ways to understand them. Amazingly, they are able to imitate facial expressions from birth, as well as use them to communicate with us.

A hungry baby, for example, will pucker their lips and make sucking motions. They may smile and coo when content, or frown and cry to show they aren’t. Respond with attention and care to encourage them to trust you and exhibit more communicative behaviour.

Encouraging these behaviours

Here are four fun ways to encourage eye contact and facial expressions:

Make eye contact: Make eye contact with your baby when you interact. This builds trust and helps them feel connected to you.
Respond to facial expressions: Respond with attention and care to your baby’s facial expressions. Smile and speak warmly.
Use positive reinforcement. If your baby keeps eye contact or uses a facial expression correctly, remember to praise and encourage them. This encourages them to continue doing it.
Mimic Facial Expressions: Mimic your baby's facial expressions to demonstrate empathy and understanding. For example, if your baby wails, you can frown back and respond, "Oh, you look upset. What's wrong?"

What roles do eye contact and facial expressions play in speech development?

From Unii’s Baby Speech Journey, we share tips on encouraging babies' nonverbal communication through the face.