Can you make eye-contact with little kids?

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I think it depends on the child. I can look my son in the eyes, but I have a VERY hard time doing it when I am disciplining him. That's something I have to work on as a parent. Sometimes I feel like I can "read" kids, and they know that I can. But, it's like other people around us...teachers, parents, even their own...can't seem to see it.
For example. I regularly attend community playgroups with my son. There is a boy there, who is 5, who refuses to leave his mothers side. He clings to her, cries if she tries to stand up or leave to use the washroom. Doesn't play with kids, just sits there clinging to her, while she talks to other parents. Now, I caught eye contact for about 5 seconds with that boy and we stared levelly at each other. I could read right away that he was acting, he was smug about the control he had, he looked at me saying "I have them all right where I want them. And what are you going to do about it". And everyone else just thinks that he is super shy and sensitive. Now every week when I look at him when he whines for her and acts like a baby, he looks at me...and he KNOWS that I know the truth. It is the creepiest thing. I have had things like that with adults as well, and at least one other child I can readily think of. Perhaps it is one reason I avoid eye contact.

I cant'. I tried once and i will never repeat this experience. It was painful for my eyes.

Depends on the kid. I know when children stare at me I get very uncomfortable.

I find it very uncormfortable. My daughter finds it very amusing. She will walk up to me real big eyed and stare right at me to see me squirm. It's very humurous, we both get a big laugh out of it.

I have trouble making eye contact with kids because I don't really like kids and because I don't want them and their parents, to think I'm a pedophile.

I can make eye contact with anyone. I just prefer not to. Children aren't any different.

Only my kid. Other people - it doesn't matter what size they are. They get the brief look and thats about it.

I'm precisely the same way, same with animals.
I think its because I find it almost comforting to look into the eyes of children because they look back at you with naivety and innocence and curiosity. When I am forced to look at adults it looks like they're trying to figure out ever minute detail about me, and I'm not okay with that, but when I look into children's eyes it's more gentle, if that makes any sense.

I met a baby recently. She made eye contact with me to see if I was friendly and I maintained eye contact and tried to smile a little and she accepted me and used my hand to stabilize herself to stay standing up and it was a really nice feeling that another human being actually trusted me to prevent her from falling, and through physical contact at that.

Adults get caught up in superficial stuff like what kind of sweater you're wearing. Kids don't seem to as much. They seem to think about other things.

I tend to put children into sleep when I look into their eyes. Practiced that on my sister when she was a toddler. My galfriends with infants find it fascinating if a bit scary. Personally I find it calming towards myself.

I was asked to volunteer with kids last year, and it was a little intimidating at first, but I got used to it. It seems that the more eye contact I make with them, the more likely they are to behave.

No. If it's a baby, it might start crying and I hate the noise of baby crying. If it's a little older one, then you don't know what it might start doing in response to the eye contact. Kids are unpredictable.

I can comfortably have eye contact with cats, but not with dogs.

It makes me uncomfortable just as much as making eye contact with anyone else.

I find kids harder to look at because theyre so fast and playful, I think I cant process all their movements fast enough to cope. Unless they are really little and slow then its alright.

It depends how young they are I think. Say 6 and below is alright, but above that it gets harder I think.