That’s it, your baby is born and you as a parent can’t wait to communicate with him/her. The moment when your baby recognises his or her parents is memorable. It is a unique moment as it will be part of the beginning of a relationship between you and your child. Recognising your parents is a subtle process and often involves regular contact. It is therefore important to help the baby recognise his or her parents, and to capture the moments when they do.
When the child recognises his parents before birth
The question of when a baby recognises Daddy is also a question of how he interacts with him. Generally speaking, the baby will start to interact in the womb. Indeed, when he moves in response to the sound of his father’s voice, this is a way of recognising him. This stage is a prerequisite for recognising the father visually. The child, used to the sound of his father’s voice since his mother’s womb, will be familiar with it. It will be easier for him to associate this voice with the face.
The first movements of your baby are generally noticeable in the 5th month of pregnancy. In the case of a second pregnancy, these movements can be felt much earlier. Daddy can then use these moments to train baby to recognise him from the womb by communicating with him. He can touch the mother’s womb and talk to her. He can, for example, tell him about his day, sing to him… All these little tricks will get baby used to his father’s reassuring voice. In this way, it will be all the easier for him to recognise him at birth.
The average age at which baby recognises dad
Before being able to recognise his surroundings, baby will have to go through several stages. Eager to communicate, he will very early on emit chirps to interact with his parents. This frequent exchange with them will enable him to get used to recognising them quickly. He smiles, he looks, he recognises the sound of your voice… In general, he will be able to recognise his mother very soon after the 9 months spent in her womb. He will particularly notice her smell and her touch. As for dad, he will be able to determine her presence around 4 months after birth. It is indeed around this age that baby is able to distinguish between the people in his immediate environment.
The stage during which baby recognises his surroundings is particularly important. This is because it allows them to form bonds with people they can trust and feel safe with. He then takes his place in the family. This stage is also particularly important because baby will be able to express his fears in the presence of strangers, or his joy at recognising people who are familiar to him. He will thus be able to distinguish between the people around him more easily.
Helping baby recognise daddy
By the time your baby is born, he will normally have been familiar with Daddy’s voice from the womb. However, sometimes it can still be difficult for him to recognise his daddy after birth. For this reason, there are a few tricks to encourage this recognition by improving the father’s communication with his baby after birth.
The first technique is to encourage contact with him. Caresses, small massages… Be delicate, it must remain soothing! This will help improve digestion and calm your agitated baby. As a precaution, you can take a course on newborn massage. Another tip is to make your baby laugh. If your baby is unhappy, this is your chance to have a laugh together to lighten the mood. Tickling, kissing and cuddling can work wonders! Make sure you talk to him/her often. You can also give your child a bath. Look at him, read him a story, play with him… All these techniques will allow you to improve your relationship with your baby so that he recognises you as naturally as possible!
