Yes, no baby is indeed born knowing either how to smile or cry. While it may seem strange to you that a facial gesture that looks as natural and positive as a smile must be learned, it is true. You may be wondering, “When do babies start smiling?”
This article will attempt to answer this question.
When Do Babies Start Smiling And Cooing?
If you have ever been around newborn babies, you may have wondered, “when do babies start smiling cooing, crawling, walking, and sitting ?” Medical professionals from all over the world have conducted numerous research trials in an attempt to answer this question.
The research results overwhelmingly suggest that most babies start to smile between six to eight weeks old. Newborns and babies learn quickly because their brains are developing quickly and because they are interested in surviving.
They learn to imitate the facial gestures of the adults around them who interact with them. This includes smiling. Interestingly enough, babies start to coo around six to eight weeks old.
Many people, maybe even you have wondered, “when do babies start to laugh?” According to the latest research, babies start to laugh when they are three to four months old. Remember that this is a general estimation. Many babies may smile when they are slightly younger or much older!
You should be excited when your baby starts to laugh with his or her high-pitched baby chortles and giggles because this means that he or she is taking one step further in terms of using body and verbal language to communicate his or her feelings!
The predecessor to the laugh is the cooing, gurgling, and deep sigh sounds you probably heard them making when they were between one to two months old.
You as, a parent can encourage your baby to start to laugh often at a very early age by making funny faces and coming up with goofy dances when you do interact with him or her.
Research reveals that parents and people who talk to their babies a lot end up with babies who laugh often and early. So be a motor mouth whenever you are around a newborn or baby!
If you have ever been around a newborn, you have seen him or her do this all of the time and you may have wondered, “why do newborns smile in their sleep?”
The reason why this happens is that the newborn’s brain is still developing. He or she is not as able to control the subconscious which may be more innate and natural. The newborn ends up smiling for what seems to be no reason while he or she is sleeping!
You may be a new parent, and if you are, you have probably noticed your baby cooing a lot. This may have made you wonder, “when do babies coo?”
You may have asked yourself this question because you likely noticed that your baby had no recognizable facial expressions or gestures until he or she was a few months old.
Babies learn to cry when they are two months old. Babies start to coo when they are between six to eight weeks old. This is the same time they begin to make audible, laughing noises, and sounds!
Most babies start to smile on their own after a few months. However, a select few do not. You may have wondered, “what does it mean when is baby, not smiling?”
While most babies start to smile between six to eight weeks old, some babies take longer to laugh. However, in general, if a baby is not smiling; it may be because of many reasons.
One is that he or she is still working on coordinating body and muscle movements.
Your baby could also be very fussy or a ‘crybaby’ in general. Fussy and unhappy babies are not going to smile very much because they are generally not in a happy mood(s) which tends to encourage broad and gleaming toothless smiles!
Many a parent has asked, “when do babies make eye contact” You may well be one of these parents.
You may be eager for your baby to make eye contact because the ‘eyes are the gateway to the soul’ and it becomes effortless to understand baby gestures and language when he or she is looking you right in the eye.
Most babies tend to look the person looking back at them in the eye between six to ten weeks old. Remember though that some babies may take longer to make eye contact and some may do it much sooner.
You want your baby to make eye contact with you as soon as possible because it plays an essential role in your baby’s emotional and intellectual development.
You probably asked the pressing question, “what does a baby reflex smile mean?” babies start to smile at around six to eight weeks old. However, because the baby’s brain, muscles, muscle coordination, and motor coordination are still undeveloped, this may be out of a reaction to seeing someone else smile.
Rest assured that as your baby’s brain, muscles, motor skills, and coordination develop this reflex smile will be replaced by a more deliberate smile at around two months old.
Believe it or not, a baby who has just been born is almost as blind as a newborn kitten is. The only real things this baby will see are light motion and a few fuzzy faces. This leads many new parents to ask, “when do babies start to see?” Most babies start to see clearly around 1 year of age.
Now That You Know
Now that you know more about babies’ reflexes and when babies start smiling the development of their facial expressions, you can pick the next baby you see (providing you get his or her parent’s permission to do so beforehand) and give him or her a big kiss and hug.
You will significantly influence the baby’s intellectual and social development because babies need human interaction to grow and develop emotionally and mentally! Visit our professional website to know more about fitness.
Other Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=babay+smile&title=Special%3ASearch&go=Go&ns0=1
A great read. I’ll definitely be back.