Because it is a very powerful and effective form of communication. A recent study found that 1-year-old babies use pointing as a way to engage and connect with adults. In the study, after a baby pointed, the adult paid attention and showed a lot of interest in the baby’s pointing. For example, the adult looked at the baby and where the baby was pointing, and talked about what the baby was pointing at. Babies loved this—they would point more frequently and pointed longer each time in order to keep the positive interaction going