Your baby will, more than likely, be fine when encountering strangers. Children start to fear strangers at around six months of age.
Children have a special sensitivity to faces and show great interest in them [1]. But in the first few months of life, their vision is still developing, and they are just learning to distinguish people from other objects around them.
By three months, babies can already recognize faces well. You’ve probably already noticed how your baby looks into your eyes! But they will also look at everybody with the same tenderness because it is difficult for them to distinguish between their own family and strangers by sight alone (scent is a different story, they can recognize it immediately!).
Fear of strangers usually develops around the six-month mark. From this age until 2-3 years of age, anxiety in the presence of unfamiliar people is a normal phenomenon [2]. The baby may even cry, for example, when held by their grandparents if they don’t see them every day.
But this is still a few months away, so, for now, enjoy your affectionate and friendly baby!
