News Humans

Babies may use saliva sharing to figure out relationships

Actions like sharing bites of food or kissing may cue young children into close bonds

image of parents laying on either side of an infant and kissing the infant

Children as young as about 8 months old keep tabs on who shares saliva, using it as a marker of who may be in a close relationship and who isn't, a study suggests.

Tuan Tran/Moment/Getty Images Plus

By Erin Garcia de Jesús

- More than 2 years ago

Young children are always watching.