"look sb. in the eye" or "look into sb's eyes

[Shinya Maki]

Which expression, (1) or (2), would be more suitable for the blank in the passage below to mean “they frequently make eye contact with their mother”?

(1) they look their mother in the eye
(2) they look into their mother's eyes

Babies begin to smile between six and twelve weeks after they are born, so until then you can hardly tell whether they are feeling happy or not. However, it often turns out that babies who are feeling happy eat a lot and gain weight. Also, ( ), and shows an interest in things around them.
[Adapted from a recent standardized mock-test by a prep school for university entrance examination in Japan.]

Some of my colleagues say (1) is no good because (1) implies a baby's challeng ing attitude to his or her mother. Others say that although (1) usually implies their challenging attitude, in this particular context (1) is perfectly OK because it is impossible for a baby to send a challenging message to anybody.

Any comment would be more than welcome.

[Rusty]

Which expression, (1) or (2), would be more suitable for the blank in the passage below to mean “they frequently make eye contact with their mother”?

(1) they look their mother in the eye
(2) they look into their mother's eyes

Babies begin to smile between six and twelve weeks after they are born, so until then you can hardly tell whether they are feeling happy or not. However, it often turns out that babies who are feeling happy eat a lot and gain weight. Also, ( ), and shows an interest in things around them.
[Adapted from a recent standardized mock-test by a prep school for university entrance examination in Japan.]

Some of my colleagues say (1) is no good because (1) implies a baby's challeng ing attitude to his or her mother. Others say that although (1) usually implies their challenging attitude, in this particular context (1) is perfectly OK because it is impossible for a baby to send a challenging message to anybody.

Any comment would be more than welcome.
I agree that (1) is not a good choice. It does imply a challenging attitude. Some people say that souls communicate by looking into the other's eyes. I'd say that (2) is the right answer.

[Shinya Maki]

Hello, Rusty.

Thank you very much for your answer. It really helps a lot.

Let me explain the background of my question.

As I wrote, the passage is from a recent standardized mock-test made and done by a leading prep school for prospective examinees of the university entrance examination in English in Japan i.e. the Japanese version of SAT. The examinees were asked to translate the blank part given all in Japanese into English. One of the model answers given later was (1)"they look their mother in the eye" and another was "they make eye contact with their mother." I criticized the test makers, saying that it should not be (1) but something like (2)"they look into their mother's eyes."

I am glad, and relieved, to know that I was right.

Sincerely,
Shinya Maki

P.S.
If it is allowed, I would like any comment from other readers, too.

[Rusty]

Comments from others are certainly allowed