A new study has found that when mom and her infant play together, they respond to each other’s cues. The bond between a mother and her baby can be indescribable. It makes sense, as mom has spent 9 months carrying this baby and then bringing them into the world, there is a connection that is made. As the newborn grows into an infant who is more able to interact and play, this bond can only grow closer between mom and her baby. Studies are constantly being done to look at this relationship, how it works, and what the impact can mean for child development.

According to Medical Xpress, a new study has found that when a mother and her baby interact and play, their physiology and behavior can coordinate with each other. This study was done by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and it can be read in full here.

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The study found that when mother and baby play together, they respond to each other’s cues on an instinctual basis, and they don’t think about it all. The researchers state that their study can help provide a lot of important insights to parents, medical professionals, and other researchers.

Previous studies have already shown that physiological synchrony is beneficial to a child’s emotional development, but this was the first study that was able to determine a direct link. This study showed that when mothers and children are coordinated, they will engage in behaviors subconsciously, like taking turns, working together, and sharing a positive effect. Meaning that if mom laughs or reacts in a positive way, the baby is likely to match the energy that is being given out. To complete the study, the researchers looked at 110 mothers and their children.

They all went to a behavioral lab for a session of interactive play with each other. They worked on small puzzles and then moved on to more pretend play with doctor toys and stuffed animals. Mothers and their children both wore electrodes that measured their responses in heart rate and experts also watched their behaviors as they were playing. They say that there was a positive change in their heart rate and that each other were responding to their social cues. The findings showed that the more the mother and child interacted with each other, the closer they became and the study showed that how parents treat their child is not the only thing that matters in parenting. It also showed that children need to be responsive to the cues that are being given by the parent to ensure a strong interaction.

Sources: Medical Xpress, Wiley Online Library