Babies love mirrors, but honestly until around 18 months of age, your little one won’t truly recognize herself.

Babies start off by using mirrors as entertainment, but they have no sense of who that other baby in the mirror is at first. Your baby also has yet to define herself as a separate person from you; an individual.  That doesn’t mean mirror play and labels for your baby as an individual are useless though. You can help your baby to identify with herself by trying the following:

Try a set of fun mirrors such as the See Me ABC’s Mirror (shown above).

Point at your baby’s reflection in the mirror and say something like, “Look at your pretty face in the mirror.” Or, “That’s Grace in the mirror.”

When talking to your baby, use her name frequently, such as, “Grace you built a block tower” or “Here’s your juice Grace.”

Label her items for her. For example instead of saying, “Here’s your Teddy,” say, “Here is Grace’s Teddy.”

You’ll know when your baby starts to grasp her sense of self, because she’ll notice changes in the mirror. For example, if she’s looking in the mirror, and you dab some face paint on her cheek, she may see it and try to touch it or rub it off. If she’s talking, she may also start to refer to her objects as her own, saying things like, “Grace’s book!” She may also be able to point to her reflection and say, “Grace.”

Does your little one love mirrors?