Looking in the Mirror
Parent places toddler in front of a mirror and calls their name while pointing to their reflection. The agent guides the parent to observe whether the child recognises themselves, responds to their name, and shows self-awareness through reactions to their reflection.
Opens a guided voice session in TogetherTime.
What you'll need
Child positioned in front of a large, safe mirror at eye level. Parent beside or behind the child. Good lighting so reflection is clear.
How it works
- 1~25s
Start by calling your child's name clearly. Say something like 'your child! Look! Who's that?' while pointing at their reflection. Watch what your child does — does they turn toward you when you say their name? Does they look at the mirror? Does they look at you? Tell me how your child responds.
Watch for: Child responds to hearing their name by turning, looking, or moving toward the person who called them.
- 2~35s
Now point at your child's reflection in the mirror and say 'That's your child! That's you!' Watch their reaction carefully. Does your child seem to understand that the reflection is them? Some children will smile at themselves, touch the mirror, try to kiss it, or touch their own body while looking at their reflection. Others might look confused or try to look behind the mirror. What does your child do?
Watch for: Child shows signs of recognising their own reflection — smiling at it, touching own body while looking, or responding to it as 'self' rather than as another child.
- 3~35s
Let's make this more playful. Stand behind your child so you both appear in the mirror. Wave at your child's reflection and see if they waves back — but watch whether they waves at the mirror or turns around to wave at you directly. You can also try putting a hat or scarf on your child while they watches in the mirror. Does they touch the hat on their own head, or reach for the reflection?
Watch for: Child demonstrates self-awareness by appropriately responding to changes seen in the mirror — touching own body rather than the reflection.