Is eye contact in toddlers important? My daughter will may eye contact from a distance, but when I am holding her she won't look at me. She is always looking off to the side. I especially notice it when she gives me a kiss. Does this mean she feels insecure about our relationship? I may be looking into this much more than I need to, but it's always concerned me that she looks away so often.
ETA: She does listen to directions, has about 80 words in her vocabulary and speaks in two-three word sentences. So I do see what some of you mean by there possibly being a developmental delay, but I assume this is normal for an 18 month old?
If your daughter usually avoids eye contact when you hold her or when she is in your lap or highchair or playing with you on the floor I would be concerned but not about anything emotional. What you are describing is a potential developmental issue and needs to be addressed. Please take her to the pediatrician and discuss this to make sure there isn't something more going on.
Blessings!
The inability to make eye contact can signify issues in young children. I highly doubt your child feels insecure about your relationship. Bring it up with your child's physician.
Does she just do this with you? I got my son to make the best eye contact with me when he was in his high chair & in the tub. I found myself talking AT my son & not TO my son... This took my husband & I a few days to get reconnected with him by putting away everything distracting to us iPhones, iPads etc etc. if she does not improve I would take her to your Pedi & see what they have to say...
If she does this just with you, it's probably nothing to worry about, but if she doesn't make eye contact up close with anyone, it could be the sign of a developmental problem. How are her other skills... does she talk? Communicate in other ways? Can she follow directions?
I've noticed this with my 2 1/2 year old son too sometimes. He'll maintain eye contact during very engaging activities like tickling, but not so much when we're talking. I find myself saying, "Look at me in the eyes" when I'm trying to tell him something important... like how to behave in the doctor's office before we go in or why we sit on our bottoms during storytime at the library. I think that it's more about him not being as excited about what I'm saying as he is to see what's going on around us. Otherwise his speech is far ahead of the typical 2 1/2 year old and he's reading everyone's emotions correctly etc., so I don't really worry about it.
