Initiates joint attention toward objects or events
Infant points, shows, or looks back and forth between caregiver and object to share attention, signalling a working model of the caregiver as a partner in meaning-making.
What the research says
Referenced across 1 developmental framework: bowlby_ainsworth_attachment_theory
Full quotes, source languages, and document links coming soon as we finish the source-evidence indexing pass.
Normative evidence
1 source back this milestone. The bars below show the age range each source covers.
Activities for this (12)
Rhythm Baby
Parent bounces and claps to music with baby, and the agent coaches the parent to observe baby's rhythmic responses — bouncing, swaying, clapping, or vocalising to the beat. This activity explores early aesthetic engagement through rhythmic movement and music.
Peekaboo Finder — Where's the Hidden Toy?
Parent hides a toy under a cloth while baby watches, then encourages baby to find it. Agent guides parent through increasingly complex hiding to assess object permanence development, while making it a delightful game of peek-a-boo with objects.
Quiet Together
Parent and baby share a peaceful, low-stimulation activity. The agent coaches the parent to observe baby's attention regulation — how long they can sustain calm focus, how they manage transitions between engagement and rest, and how they signal when they need a break.
Outdoor Explorer
Parent takes baby outside and the agent coaches the parent to observe baby's sensory engagement with the natural world — noticing wind, leaves, birds, grass, sky. This activity builds early ecological awareness through multi-sensory outdoor exploration.
First Words — Catching Those Meaningful Sounds
Parent engages baby in a naming game using familiar objects and people. Agent guides parent to observe whether babbling is becoming meaningful — whether specific sound patterns are consistently connected to specific things, people, or requests.
More Please!
Parent introduces the concept of 'more' during snack or play by offering items one at a time and pausing. The agent coaches the parent to observe whether baby understands, gestures for, or anticipates 'more' — the earliest quantitative concept.
Gentle roughhousing
Playful physical engagement — gentle tosses, tummy tickles, side-to-side swoops. The agent coaches the parent to read baby's cues for 'more' and 'pause,' treating roughhousing as a dialogue of trust rather than stimulation for its own sake. Observations track baby's joy signals and the parent's attunement to pause cues.
Joint attention with a favourite object
Parent and baby share focus on an object baby likes — a toy, a spoon, a leaf. Agent coaches the parent to point, name, and look back to check baby is looking too. Observations track the triangle: baby → object → parent → object. This is a precursor to language and shared meaning.
Mirror play
Parent holds baby in front of a mirror. Agent guides playful discovery of self and other. Baby won't know the reflection is 'self' until ~18 months, but the shared looking builds joint attention and shared joy. Observations track parent-naming and baby's response to the reflected caregiver.
Name-and-show
When baby shows the parent an object — by holding it up, pointing, or bringing it over — the parent names it warmly and returns the attention. Agent coaches the parent to treat every 'showing' as a meaningful bid for connection. Observations track baby's initiations and parent's responsiveness to bids.
Peek-a-boo rituals
Classic peek-a-boo — the game that helps baby feel the rhythm of disappearance and return. The agent coaches the parent to build a predictable mini-ritual (same cloth, same phrase, same timing). Observations track anticipation, delight, and the baby's emerging sense that you come back.
Mirror Magic: Making Faces Together
A playful mirror activity where parent and child explore different facial expressions to build emotional awareness and communication skills.
Formal assessments
No matching assessment items indexed yet.
Standardised assessment view
3 instruments measure this construct. The construct page shows how each one approaches it and at what age range.
View as assessment construct →