Definition
The word “strangers” describes a behavior of small children towards strangers. In this context, the term “stranger” can also be defined as grandma, grandpa or their own dad. Small children can start to become strangers overnight and then face all other people, including the immediate and familiar surroundings, with suspicion and a dismissive behavior.
In most cases, the only trusted caregiver remains the mother. This strangeness is, however, totally normal and should not be a cause for concern. It speaks for the fact that the social behavior of the child develops so that the child recognizes familiar faces and can differentiate strangers from them.
Causes of the foreignel
The only defined reason for strangers to date is the normal developmental process of the child’s social behavior. From the 6th month onwards, children are able to recognize faces and react accordingly to familiar or unfamiliar people. The child’s sensory perception matures so that it no longer blindly trusts, smiles at and pays undivided attention to each person as before.
The child can now recognize certain features in the face of different people or assign individual gestures and facial expressions. In a certain way, a child’s strangeness is the first sign of a healthy distrust of strangers in a possibly unfamiliar environment. At the same time, the strangeness is also a sign that the child is able to build up trust.
As a parent, there is no need to worry or reproach that the strangeness is based on a bad upbringing or that the child has been spoiled too much. Of course, bad experiences with strangers in the past can have a negative influence on the 8-month stripping. However, this is rather an exception.
By the way, strangers can be very dependent on the current well-being of the child. On bad-tempered days, stranger behaviour may be more pronounced than usual. It is also assumed that it depends on the maternal character how long and intensive the stranger phase lasts. Communicative mothers who are quick to talk to new people and open to strangers can, in the presence of their child, convey to him or her that there is no danger from strangers. If a child grows up in such a contact, this can have a positive influence on the child’s strangeness.
