The importance of mutual gaze in mother-child relationships and in the language development of children is well documented in Western societies, but we don’t if it is equally important in Africa. In the present study, the frequency, duration, and nature of mutual gaze interactions were observed between caregivers and children living in Wolof-speaking communities in rural Senegal. Relations between mother-child mutual gaze and Wolof children’s language skills were also considered. Caregivers (n = 60), and their children (age range: 20-30 months) were observed as they played together and their interactions videorecorded and coded. The Wolof versions of the CDI and language milestones parent reports of child language, were administered. Descriptive analyses of five-minute face-to-face interactions, revealed that rural Senegalese mothers look their children in the eye over 13 times with an average total duration of over 25 seconds. Mothers were the major initiators of the mutual gaze episodes, which were predominantly positive in nature, but they also demonstrated a high degree of responsiveness to children’s bids for mutual gaze. Separate linear regressions showed that mutual gaze frequency significantly predicted Wolof children’s vocabulary, but not their language milestones. Although some research suggests that eye gaze might be culturally stigmatized, results suggest that mothers use this approach frequently when interacting with their young children. It is also evident that mutual gaze can be important in helping Wolof children learn their mother tongue.
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