Why do babies put everything in their mouths? The story of their tiny "I want to know!"

Bonjour!

When you're with your baby, do you often encounter scenes like these?
You hand them a toy, and it immediately goes into their mouth.
A towel also goes into their mouth.
Their own hands go into their mouth.
Even when you're showing them a cute toy,
you might laugh and think, "Are you going to eat it before you even look at it?"
But there's a unique reason why babies put things in their mouths.
Today, we're talking about those little "whys."

For babies, their mouths are also a gateway to understanding the world.

As adults, if we encounter something new, we first look at it with our eyes, and if necessary, touch it with our hands to examine it.
But babies, who are still developing, use not only their hands and eyes but also their mouths to explore the things around them.
Is it smooth?
Is it soft?
Is it hard?
What shape is it?
For babies, almost everything they encounter daily is a "first meeting."
Even a simple toy, which adults might take for granted, could be a mysterious object that babies want to research.

Even their own hands are interesting.

One day, babies suddenly stare intently at their hands or put their fingers in their mouths.
For adults, "our own hands" have been there since birth.

But for babies,
they are objects of discovery, like, "What is this?"

They stare at them.
They move them.
They touch them.
They put them in their mouths.

Little by little, they begin to discover their own bodies and the world around them.
When you think about it that way, doesn't a seemingly trivial gesture look a little different?
"They're putting it in their mouth again!" is a sight unique to this stage.
When babies are putting everything in their mouths, it's important for adults to prioritize safety.
In particular, small parts, coins, batteries, magnets, and other items that could lead to choking should be kept out of reach of babies.
Even if you think, "They can't move yet, so it's fine," sometimes they can reach a place today that they couldn't reach yesterday.
As your baby grows, it's a good idea to occasionally get down to their eye level and look around the room.
You might find "interesting things" that you didn't notice from an adult's height.

Babies putting Sophie in their mouths.

When you watch babies playing with Sophie the Giraffe, you'll see them grip it with their hands and then put it directly into their mouths.
Sophie the Giraffe has long been loved as a toy with a shape that's easy for babies to grasp.
But it's the baby who decides how to play.

Some grasp her neck.
Some grasp her legs.
Some stare intently at her face.
And some examine her with their mouths.

It's interesting how even with the same Sophie, babies show different interests.

Obvious to adults, but a big discovery for babies.

Cold.
Warm.
Soft.
Hard.
Makes a sound.
Can be gripped.
Falls.

Babies are encountering countless things every day, things they don't even have names for yet.
They are in the process of discovering the world from scratch, a world that we adults consider "obvious."
When you look at your baby with that in mind,
the usual sight of "they're putting it in their mouth again!"
might feel a little more endearing, like,
"You're working so hard to explore the world today too."

What is your baby researching today?

Yesterday, it was Sophie's ears.
Today, it's their own fingers.
What will they be interested in tomorrow?
A baby's "I want to know!" changes little by little every day.
While adults carefully watch out for dangers, we want to gently observe that tiny curiosity beside them.
A sight you can only see now,
the daily life of a tiny researcher.

May Sophie also be a friend in that research.
Until next time.

Photos by @emm_adeja

À bientôt!