Developing the ability to follow others’ body language, including pointing and gesture.
Observe whether the child: developing the ability to follow others’ body language, including pointing and gesture.
What it looks like
Three ways this behaviour shows up as a child grows. Each level includes everyday moments to watch for.
Emerging
Just starting
The child sometimes glances in the general direction of an adult’s gesture (e.g., follows a big point or head turn), especially in close, familiar routines. The response is brief or inconsistent and may require repeated gesturing.
What you might see
An adult points to a toy on the floor; the child watches the adult’s finger but keeps looking at their own toy.
An adult turns head and eyes toward a sound; the child does not shift gaze and continues staring forward.
An adult holds out an open hand to offer a toy; the child does not look at the hand or reach.
When the adult uses a big, close point to a toy, the child briefly glances in that direction but does not look long enough to find the toy.
The child follows a gesture only after the adult repeats it several times (e.g., multiple points) or adds a sound effect.
During a routine (e.g., ‘bye-bye’ wave), the child sometimes looks toward the waved direction, but not consistently.
Expected
On track
The child often follows clear gestures (pointing, open-hand show, head turn) to locate an object/person in familiar contexts. They may still miss subtler gestures or need the adult to be close and the target to be salient.
What you might see
The adult points to a nearby object (e.g., cup); the child looks to the object and then looks back at the adult.
The adult gestures ‘come’ with an arm motion; the child turns and moves closer in a familiar setting.
The adult points to a person across the room; the child turns head and eyes to locate the person.
Exceeding
Going further
The child consistently follows others’ body language (pointing/gesture) to a target across everyday contexts, and often checks back to the adult. They use this information to guide attention and action (e.g., reaches for the indicated toy).
What you might see
The adult points to a toy across the room; the child looks to the correct toy and reaches/crawls toward it.
The adult points to a picture in a book; the child looks at the indicated picture and may touch it.
The adult makes a clear ‘give it to me’ hand gesture; the child looks at the hand and places the object into it.
The adult points to a less obvious target (e.g., something behind another object); the child still searches and finds the target.
The child alternates gaze: looks at the adult’s face, then follows the point to the object, then looks back again.
The child responds to a gesture-only cue (e.g., ‘come’ motion) even when the adult is not speaking.
Try this at home
Small everyday moments where you can notice this behaviour without setting up anything special.
During play, point clearly to a toy your child is not currently holding; notice whether they look where you point and then reach/shift toward it.
At snack time, point to their cup or a piece of fruit; do they follow your point without you moving the item closer?
While looking out a window, point to something interesting (car, bird) and say nothing for a moment; do they track your gesture to the right place?
In a book, point to a familiar picture (dog, ball); watch whether your child’s eyes go to the exact picture you indicate.
During tidy-up, use a ‘come here’ or ‘give’ hand gesture; notice whether your child responds to the gesture even if your words are minimal.
Connected behaviours
Behaviours that scaffold, follow, or co-emerge with this one.
The framework source and supporting developmental research.
Framework source
Department for Education (DfE). (2012). Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
The framework identifies following pointing/gesture as an early understanding behaviour and a basis for shared attention.
Developmental research
Carpenter, M., Nagell, K., & Tomasello, M. (1998). Social cognition, joint attention, and communicative competence from 9 to 15 months of age. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 63(4), 1–143. doi:10.2307/1166214
Joint attention research links infants’ gaze/gesture following with later communicative competence, supporting this as an assessable observable.
Five-level rubric (detailed)ShowHide
The full progression underlying the three levels above. Used by the platform’s reasoning agent when planning activities and observations.
Not Yet
The child does not reliably shift their gaze in response to an adult’s pointing, head turn, or gesture; they mainly attend to what is directly in front of them. They may watch the adult’s hand move but do not look to the indicated place/object.
An adult points to a toy on the floor; the child watches the adult’s finger but keeps looking at their own toy.
An adult turns head and eyes toward a sound; the child does not shift gaze and continues staring forward.
An adult holds out an open hand to offer a toy; the child does not look at the hand or reach.
Emerging
The child sometimes glances in the general direction of an adult’s gesture (e.g., follows a big point or head turn), especially in close, familiar routines. The response is brief or inconsistent and may require repeated gesturing.
When the adult uses a big, close point to a toy, the child briefly glances in that direction but does not look long enough to find the toy.
The child follows a gesture only after the adult repeats it several times (e.g., multiple points) or adds a sound effect.
During a routine (e.g., ‘bye-bye’ wave), the child sometimes looks toward the waved direction, but not consistently.
Developing
The child often follows clear gestures (pointing, open-hand show, head turn) to locate an object/person in familiar contexts. They may still miss subtler gestures or need the adult to be close and the target to be salient.
The adult points to a nearby object (e.g., cup); the child looks to the object and then looks back at the adult.
The adult gestures ‘come’ with an arm motion; the child turns and moves closer in a familiar setting.
The adult points to a person across the room; the child turns head and eyes to locate the person.
Secure
The child consistently follows others’ body language (pointing/gesture) to a target across everyday contexts, and often checks back to the adult. They use this information to guide attention and action (e.g., reaches for the indicated toy).
The adult points to a toy across the room; the child looks to the correct toy and reaches/crawls toward it.
The adult points to a picture in a book; the child looks at the indicated picture and may touch it.
The adult makes a clear ‘give it to me’ hand gesture; the child looks at the hand and places the object into it.
Reflexive
The child flexibly uses adults’ gestures to coordinate shared attention: they follow pointing even to less obvious targets and may alternate gaze between adult and object. They may also respond to a ‘come here’ or ‘give’ gesture without needing words.
The adult points to a less obvious target (e.g., something behind another object); the child still searches and finds the target.
The child alternates gaze: looks at the adult’s face, then follows the point to the object, then looks back again.
The child responds to a gesture-only cue (e.g., ‘come’ motion) even when the adult is not speaking.
