In the parent-child relationship, many moms and dads believe that one of the most important phases is when the infant recognizes them. At what age does a baby recognize his father? Response from experts.
A thousand and one questions win us over when we are about to become a parent. Most of them are related to the pivotal ages of the child and their different stages of development. Among them are the classics “at what age does baby walk”, “at what age does baby speak”, “at what age does a baby teethe” etc However, another question often comes up in the minds of future dads and moms: at what age does the baby recognize us?
On the mother’s side, the question is less frequent: since she is carrying the baby, we imagine that her bond with him is innate*. The subject is therefore more often brought to the table on the paternal side. So, at what age does baby recognize dad? The doctors answer us.
This is the age at which a baby is able to recognize his father
In the collective imagination, we tend to think that the bond between mother and baby is formed more naturally than the bond between father and newborn… Far from being convoluted, this idea is rather logical when we know that the mother-child bond is formed while he is still in her womb. It is even said that the child is able to identify the voice of his mother while he is still a fetus!
If we stick to these arguments, babies would therefore recognize their mother more quickly than their dad… However, some studies tend to show that this cliché is not so true. Indeed, many pediatricians claim that infants are able to recognize familiar voices and sounds from the third trimester of pregnancy (and not only that of their mother). Thus, if dad speaks to the baby while he is still in mum’s womb, there is a high probability that once born, the latter will do the connection between the voice he often heard and the identity of his father.
Besides voice recognition, what about visual recognition? When is baby able to recognize dad when he sees him? Dr. Natasha Burgert, pediatrician and spokesperson for theAmerican Academy of Pediatricsexplains to our counterparts in Romper.com that toddlers show signs of connection and visual recognition of their parents from the first week of birth* even though their sense of sight is still developing. Thus, it is quite possible that baby begins to recognize dad from his first week on Earth!
What’s next after this ad
On average, what is the age at which baby recognizes dad?
If we know the age of recognition ability of the baby, what is it really in fact? Generally, what is the average age at which the toddler recognizes his male parent ? Statistics put it at… 4 months. Indeed, according to the words of the specialists, it is at this precise age that he manages to distinguish the different people of his close entourage (grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts, etc.). Our colleagues from Doctissimosupported by the words of psychologists, even speak of 6 months.
Dear dads, don’t despair if your baby still doesn’t recognize you! This can sometimes take a few months. That doesn’t mean you can’t build a strong bond with him during that time. Specialists recommend, for example, increasing physical contact, “skin to skin” with him: cuddling him, carrying him, tucking him in, are all effective strategies for developing closeness with the newborn.
Open-minded and in love with life, Emilie likes to decipher the new phenomena that shape society and relationships today. Her passion for the human being motivates her to write…