When Babies Collide

 Not once but three times have I found videos with the same scenario: Two babies of different parents meet, one squeals and scares the living daylights out of the other one.

Is it their temperament? Are they not used to registering responses from their own? Each baby in the vid is too young to have self recognition, so they don't understand that other baby as something that acts and looks similar to themselves.

 I'm not a pediatrician, and only seen Discovery's "The Baby Human" series, but I wonder if this phenomenon has been explored. This mothers forum explains it's the unknown nature of the other infant and sudden loud noise that frightens them.

Come to think of it, this baby (on the right) tries to ease his fears by touching his baby cousin.....until Mom stops him:

 

Thankfully, someone in the forum is just as aware of the self-recognition issue as I was and had a pretty good advice:

Sometimes we are unaware that we reinforce their fears by looking a little anxious when faced with a situ[ation] we think they may not like. Smiley smiley and positive comments are needed.

Well said. Being a mom, like understanding a baby's brain, is an eternally developing process.