At this stage, your baby is curious about his surroundings. Your little one is now half way through his first year and his brain is developing at a rapid pace. If you focus on a toy or object and he too does the same albeit with a shorter attention span, it means joint attention or shared focus has been established.
What you need to know
Joint attention, also known as shared focus, is a necessity for effective learning. Your baby needs to pay attention to you and the object of your focus when you explain to him about it or simply show it to him.
Though joint attention is a normal occurrence around this time, you need to know that sometimes a parent may have to work on it. You can practice a simple exercise with your baby by copying the baby’s activity and drawing his attention. See if he is observing you, soon you will find that the baby also imitates your activity and participates in it. This simple exercise when practiced regularly will help your baby improve his social interactions and attention span, and eventually he will learn how to focus on things that are shown to him.
