Joint attention is the early language development skill that allows infants to communicate with others and develop a sense of social interaction. We will highlight the importance of joint attention as a foundational skill for language development and touch on a few ways you as the caregiver can cultivate joint attention with your child. 

Joint attention is the ability to focus on an object or event with another person. It’s one of the most important early skills in communication and social development, and lays the groundwork for later language skills. Joint attention typically emerges around 9 months, and children are initially better responders to joint attention than they are initiators of joint attention. 

But what is the difference between responding to joint attention and initiating joint attention?

When responding to joint attention, a child will simply follow the gaze and point of the caregiver to the object or event of interest. When initiating joint attention with the caregiver, the child might use vocalizations or gestures to draw the caregiver’s gaze to the object or event of interest. 

So, what at-home activities can be used to facilitate joint attention with your child?
Joint attention can be stimulated by increasing eye contact between the caregiver and the child and using play to increase turn-taking skills. To encourage increased eye contact between the caregiver and the child, simple activities, such as putting stickers on the face, holding highly preferred toys to the eyes, or looking in the mirror together to establish eye contact can be used. To stimulate turn-taking skills, try rolling a ball back and forth, blowing and popping bubbles, or racing cars across the floor.

Joint attention is one of the first foundational skills in language development for infants and toddlers. By providing positive joint attention experiences for your child, you can help lay the groundwork for future communication skills.