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Your baby is a little explorer soaking up all the sights, sounds and smells as they tune into the world around them.

But what do babies want and need from you? Do they want you to pay attention to them? Or do they want you to look at the thing that they're interested in with them?

We asked Professor Ben Ambridge to put this to the test in our Speech Lab and see what the results were.

Watch the full experiment in the video below to find out what the big deal is with shared attention.

Try the joint attention experiment at home

When your baby has noticed something and wants to show you, there are two different ways that you can react.

By trying this experiment at home, you'll be able to work out which one your baby prefers and which is better for their language learning.

In our experiment, we use a puppet to get baby's attention, but you can use any object around your house. You want the baby to notice the object, look at it and try to engage with it.

First, see how your baby reacts when you pay attention to them but don't share attention with the object. So don't look at the object or point to it.

How does your baby react? Do they point at the object? Or do they seem confused?

Compare their reaction to what happens when you share attention to the object. This means sharing your attention between your baby and the object and looking at both objects throughout the conversation.

In our experiment, when our family shared attention with the object, baby was a lot happier and engaged with the conversation. Is your child the same?

A scientific diagram showing two brains, with the prefrontal cortex highlighted. Underneath it says brainwaves can synchronise.
Image caption,
Scientists have found that you and your baby's brain waves can actually synchronise.

What happens in your baby's brain during joint attention?

The triangular interaction created when you and your baby engage with another object is really important for language development.

Scientists have found that when you and your baby interact with something together, your brain waves can actually synchronise.

That means that the brain's electrical pulses begin to match up as you look at the same thing.

The researchers found that social signals like eye contact and gestures increased the likelihood of this happening.

When these brain waves synchronise, your baby is more likely to link your words to the object that you're both looking at. And this is why shared attention is so important for language learning.

How to encourage joint attention

There are many ways you can help your baby develop joint attention skills. We've listed a couple below:

  • Bubble blowing is a great activity for working on joint attention and communication skill development.
  • Practice joint attention as part of your daily routine, during tasks such as brushing teeth or at bath and mealtimes.
  • Playing hide the toy helps teach your child to follow your gaze, point and head turns.
A scientific diagram showing two brains, with the prefrontal cortex highlighted. Underneath it says brainwaves can synchronise.
Image caption,
Scientists have found that you and your baby's brain waves can actually synchronise.

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