Why does a child not look you in the eye?

Answer 1

Children may not look you in the eye for several reasons. A child is bombarded with new and unfamiliar stimulation and information constantly, which it is trying to process. Wandering eyes may just be an artifact of the child trying to take this in and make sense of it.

Constant failure to look directly at you may also indicate that the child may have a vision problem which would cause it to either not see you, or in an attempt to focus on you to give the appearance that it is looking elsewhere.

A reluctance to make eye contact, or to repeatedly shy away from eye contact with parents and with people whom the child is very familiar with is often a first symptom of an autism spectrum disorder. This behavior might also be a symptom of abuse or other social/physiological disorders.