The importance of face-to-face play for infants’ social development

Face-to-face play is one of the main forms of interaction between caregivers and their infants in the first few months of life. There are numerous benefits that face-to-face play provides for infants’ social cognitive development. Playful face-to-face interactions support the development of a bond between the infant and the caregiver, contribute to the development of the infant’s sense of self, and support the development of infants’ ability to copy others’ facial expressions. This article discusses the implications of these findings for practitioners, and provides pointers for the various ways in which face-to-face play between infants and their caregivers can be encouraged.