 In children, this common point of reference often is an object in the environment, such as a toy.The development of joint attention initially starts with the infants' ability to respond to joint attention bids (e.g., looking where their parent looks), and eventually develops with age to the ability to initiate joint attention by directing the attention of another to shared point of reference.This can be done through many means, including gaze, gesture (e.g., pointing, showing), or speech.