Adult Babies are grown men and women who enjoy role playing as infants or toddlers. This regression may occur spontaneously or more frequently. This role playing activity is part of a broader type of role play known as age play.
Little research has been conducted on adult babies, and the psychological motive for this behavior is unknown.
The term adult babies is often shortened to the acronym AB.
Adult babies adopt a number of behaviors that imply a regression towards a more infantile state. Many are non-verbal or have limited speech. Many drink formula or juice from a bottle, eat baby food, or wear onesies and diapers into which they may urinate or defecate. Adult babies may play simple games with other adult babies or engage in nurturing experiences with other adults who take on the roles of caregivers. Adult caregivers may bathe or play with their adult babies, change their diapers, or even spank them if they misbehave.
Many adult babies engage in their infantile behaviors in the privacy of their homes. Others choose to visit adult nurseries established to cater specifically to the needs of adult babies.
Adult babies often have a sexual fetish for their role-playing activities, however this is not always the case. The formal name for this fetish is paraphilic infantilism or autonepiophilia, or colloquially as adult baby syndrome. Other adult babies simply wish to relax and revert to a simpler time when they didn’t need to worry about adult issues such as paying bills and holding down a job.
Many adult babies have a diaper fetish, but this is not always the case. Similarly, not everyone with a diaper fetish is an adult baby.
The individual dresses up and/or behaves like a baby; A person who derives fetishistic pleasure from acting as a baby, dressing up in infants’ clothing and diapers, and role-playing scenes in which they act out the part of a baby as fully as possible.
Paraphilic infantilism, also known as autonepiophilia and adult baby syndrome is a sexual fetish that involves role-playing a regression to an infant-like state. Behaviors may include drinking from a bottle or wearing diapers. Individuals may engage in gentle and nurturing experiences (an adult who only engages in infantilistic play is known as an adult baby) or be attracted to masochistic, coercive, punishing, or humiliating experiences. Diaper fetishism involves “diaper lovers” wearing diapers for sexual or erotic reasons but may not involve infant-like behavior. Individuals who experience both of these things are referred to as adult baby/diaper lovers (AB/DL). When wearing diapers, infantilists may urinate or defecate in them.
There is no recognized etiology for infantilism and little research on the subject. It has been linked to masochism and a variety of other paraphilias. Though commonly confused with pedophilia, the two conditions are distinct and infantilists do not seek children as sexual partners. A variety of causes has been proposed, including altered love maps, imprinting gone awry and errors in erotic targets, though there is no consensus. A variety of organizations exist to promote infantilism or meet with other practitioners throughout the world.