Can distinguish faces

Your Child can now recognize familiar faces and might feel scared if there are strangers. As a result, the bond between you and Your Child may now become much stronger.

Somewhere between the ages of 4 months and 8 months, most children begin to recognize whether someone is a stranger. This means that they might get fussy around new people and develop separation anxiety from their main caregivers. This is part of a healthy social and emotional development, which usually strengthens the bond between both parents and their child. If the father was first a bit disconnected from Your Child, he may now realize that he’s the protector when the mother is not around. 

How to support this development
Help your little one get familiar with other members of the family who aren’t around often by holding Your Child on your lap while interacting with family members and friends. If you have someone else to care for Your Child, ask the person to come in early so your little one can get comfortable around them before you leave the two alone. When you can, take Your Child with you to meet familiar people and let the little one see you smile and talk to them.

Note: All children develop differently and at their own pace. For children born preterm, the referred timeframe for achieving the various developmental milestones might be incorrect.

Sources: The information and graphs about when children reach specific milestones are taken from various sources, including the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC), the Denver Developmental Screening Test, and the State Institute of Early Childhood Research, Germany (IFP).