4-8 Months: It's About Trust - Milestones

1. Engages with familiar adults.

As they get to know the adults who are with them everyday, young infants develop more specific ways to show that they want to be with these adults. Babies will reach, smile, and laugh in order to gain the attention of those they are with most often. It is important for caregivers to cuddle, hug, and generally show how much they appreciate and enjoy the babies in their care. Caregivers show babies how to be responsive in social situations. For example:

Developing as expected, they might:

• babble and coo to gain the attention of someone nearby and then look intently at the face when the familiar person talks to them
• smile when someone familiar smiles or makes gentle, funny faces at them
• kick their legs or reach with their arms when they see a familiar person approaching their crib or infant seat
• catch the eye of someone familiar nearby and then smile
• bounce on their caregiver's lap as though trying to say, "Let's play horsie"
• make loud sounds as though trying to talk to someone, even when everyone is in another room

Needing development, they might:

• just look at the rattle when it is offered to them rather than reaching for it
• not relax or seem to be comforted when held in someone's arms
• lie quietly in their crib or on the floor, or sit in their high chair for long periods of time, seemingly unaware of the people around them or what they are doing
• continue to fuss or cry, even when picked up and talked to soothingly

2. Notices and reacts to unfamiliar adults.

By now, young infants know the nurturing adults who are with them regularly. Babies show they know who is who in their lives by their response to strangers. They may respond with curiosity, but more often babies at eight months are showing wariness or fear, called "stranger anxiety." Their reactions are influenced in part by how many unfamiliar adults they usually encounter. Babies in child care are more accustomed to coming in contact with a variety of people, but they might still be wary and cautious at this age. Babies look to familiar adults for support when a stranger approaches or tries to start some play. For example:

Developing as expected, they might:

• hide their face in a familiar adult's shoulder when he or she is talking with someone they don't know
• look curiously at a relative they haven't seen for a long time and hold tight to their caregiver
• stop eating and stare when a new person comes into the room
• reach to a familiar adult to be picked up when a stranger says hello
• cling to familiar people when they see a person who looks different from what they are used to, such as a man with a mustache or beard, or someone in a costume
• cry if it is not the same person each day who greets them when they go to child care in the morning
• cry and "tense up" if someone new approaches them

Needing development, they might:

• not show they recognize any difference between caregivers and a new person who picks them up
• reach to be picked up, whether it's a familiar or an unfamiliar person
• look back and forth without concern between the familiar and unfamiliar adults who walk into the room together
• reach toward, then pause, when a new person is approaching
• not seem to notice that it is a new person who is offering them a toy