Have you ever wondered why your baby is fascinated with tags? What makes these little pieces of satin fabric that detail garment care or label a toy capture your baby’s attention so well – and sometimes even better than the toy itself?

When my eldest daughter was about 5 months old, I noticed her interest in tags and bought her a Taggies toy: a soft fleece blanket with small loops of satin ribbon in all the colors of the rainbow sewn around it. Can you guess which color my baby liked best? None of them. She went straight for the product tag hiding in between!

I’ve since learned that tags have several properties that make them particularly interesting to babies. Exploring what these properties are can offer us a glimpse into how babies learn about the world around them.

The Mystery of Labels and Tags

Tags Are Usually Attached to the Edges of Objects

During the first weeks of life, babies tend to first look at the edges, or outer contours, of a new object as they figure out its shape – and that’s where the tags are usually found. As your baby scans the perimeter of a new toy, he will likely pause at the ‘irregularity’ created by the tag.

Tags Are a Common Feature Between Different Objects

Tags are present on many objects your baby notices in and outside your home, making them an interesting phenomenon for baby to categorize. Just like scientists, babies learn by figuring out patterns in the world around them: they place objects and events they repeatedly observe into categories, and then use these categories to predict the outcomes of future events. For example, by about 5 months a baby usually learns that when she drops something, it falls down; it’ll take a few years before she learns the term ‘gravity’, but she’s already discovered a pattern: objects tend to fall without support ⁽¹⁾. She will begin understanding that liquids and solids behave differently ⁽²⁾ around 6 months and gain a sense of object transparency ⁽³⁾ around 8-9 months. When a baby sees a new object or event that fits into a category she’s already figured out, she doesn’t pay extra attention to it. For example, when an older baby drops a ball and it falls down, she is not surprised: her brain sees this predicted experience as “usual”. But when the experience is unusual — say, she sees a helium balloon floating in the air — she cannot easily fit this observation into her existing knowledge, so her brain pays special attention. This is why tags present an interesting challenge: they are a common feature between different objects, but they look and feel a little different each time!

Tags Offer High Contrasts

On most tags, the text is printed against a contrasting background for ease of readability. Newborns cannot see very well yet; it takes a typically developing baby a few months ⁽⁴⁾ to be able to detect all colors. Even then, more intense and contrasting colors are still easier for babies to spot – and so high-contrast tags draw their attention.

Tags Are Easy to Grasp and Manipulate

As your baby’s fine motor skills progress, he learns to intentionally reach for, grasp, and manipulate objects – and tags are perfect for practicing these newfound skills. The tags themselves tend to be quite small; standalone objects of this size aren’t safe for babies to play with due to risk of choking. However, when securely attached to a larger, safe-to-play-with objects, tags can be explored safely. Feeling the tag’s texture, flipping it over, and noticing the small details can be interesting and calming for babies. It can also be intriguing for babies to feel the difference in texture between the tag itself and the items it’s attached to.

This is why my baby went straight for the product tag instead of exploring the colorful ribbon loops: the product tag likely looked like something she’d seen before, there was only one tag of this type, and the text stood out against the light background, capturing her attention.

Should You Let Your Baby Play with Tags?

I’ve seen parents express concern over their baby’s fascination with labels and tags, wondering if such ‘tag obsession’ is normal. As you can see, it’s very normal and, in fact, can be a sign of learning and growing. 

Before you let your baby play with a clothing or toy tags, always check that tags are securely sewn in and won’t come loose (a loose tag could become a choking hazard due to its small size). Make sure the tags your baby plays with are made of soft, smooth materials that won’t hurt your baby’s fingers or gums and don’t have any loose threads that could wrap around baby’s fingers or toes.

And what if your baby is not interested in tags? I wouldn’t worry. She may not have discovered them yet or is simply focusing on other patterns and textures around her.

Sensitive Observation

Whether your baby is interested in tags or not, she is learning incredibly fast. One way to really notice what she’s working on is to simply be with your baby, without the distraction of screens or the pressure to do something, even for just a few minutes every day. Hold your baby or lie down next to her and watch her quietly. Try not to think about what you want her to do or what the charts say she’s supposed to be doing at this age; see her in the moment, as she is. Notice what she’s looking at, what she’s working on, what captures her attention most, and what might be challenging for her. Sensitive observation like this will help you figure out what play objects your baby might enjoy most at this stage – and, more importantly, help you get to know your baby as a unique, special little person.

About the Author

Anya Dunham, PhD, is a research scientist studying ecology, a mom to three young kids, and the author of Baby Ecology, an award-winning book that brings together insights from hundreds of scientific studies to help parents understand babies’ biological needs and create the environment for feeding, sleep, and play that suits their unique baby best. Connect with Anya at https://www.kidecology.com/

References

⁽¹⁾ Needham A, Baillargeon R. Intuitions about support in 4.5-month-old infants. Cognition. 1993 May;47(2):121-48. doi: 10.1016/0010-0277(93)90002-d. PMID: 8324998.

⁽²⁾ Hespos SJ, Ferry AL, Anderson EM, Hollenbeck EN, Rips LJ. Five-Month-Old Infants Have General Knowledge of How Nonsolid Substances Behave and Interact. Psychol Sci. 2016 Feb;27(2):244-56. doi: 10.1177/0956797615617897. Epub 2016 Jan 7. PMID: 26744069.

⁽³⁾ Luo Y, Baillargeon R. When the ordinary seems unexpected: evidence for incremental physical knowledge in young infants. Cognition. 2005 Apr;95(3):297-328. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2004.01.010. Epub 2005 Jan 7. PMID: 15788161; PMCID: PMC3351380.

⁽⁴⁾ Skelton, A.E., Maule, J., & Franklin, A. (2022). Infant color perception: Insight into perceptual development. Child Development Perspectives, 16, 2, 90-95. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12447

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