Is there anything sweeter than that smile on your infant’s face? Your naysayer neighbors insists it’s just gas. They say your baby is much too young to smile. But you know better. And the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has your back. So when do babies smile?
According to the AAP, a baby should begin to develop a social smile between birth and 3 months old. Your newborn reaches other social milestones during this age, too, becoming more communicative and expressive with face and body.
Here are some of the social milestones you should anticipate from your newborn during the first three months of life:
And read
our guide to developmental milestones for kids
.
Make a Smiley Face
When do babies smile? “Social smiles are quicker to occur in babies whose loving parents have been interacting and using ‘parentese,’ or baby talk, since birth,” says Dr. Alice Sterling Honig, professor emerita in the Syracuse University Department of Children and Family Studies and author of several parenting books. Not sure how to speak “parentese”? “Use long drawn-out vowels, a voice one octave up and very slow, loving, pleasurable tones,” she says.
Dr. Renate Zangl, an infant language development specialist and author of “Raising a Talker,” concurs. “Analyzing baby’s responses to people who talked with them either in normal adult-directed speech or happy baby talk (or ‘parentese’), by only watching videos without hearing which speech style was used, found that babies reacted more affectionately and smiled back more when engaging with an adult using baby talk or parentese.”
Kick and Play
The AAP also notes that by the time babies are 3 months old, they already love to play. “Your baby should enjoy kicking and keeping an interested eye on things, for example, a mobile hung over the crib or toys dangled at the baby’s feet,” says Dr. Honig. “The baby will look at the object, really concentrating, and will vigorously kick to keep them moving — some babies can do this up to 20 minutes!” In which case, your soccer mom days are almost assured.
Babies “prefer to see faces over objects” and also “prefer to listen to people’s voices over other noises,” says Dr. Zangl. “Babies especially love to play with familiar people who talk and smile with them and who respond and talk back to them. The voice and the face together are what makes the baby engage and play longer.”
Infants, especially those who have had “very attentive and highly tuned-in caregivers,” may become distressed when an adult no longer engages or doesn’t read their signals correctly, says Dr. Zangl. “They have built up an anticipation of how the adult is reacting, and when this behavior isn’t met, they cry.”
Make Expressive Faces and Recognize Others
“Newborns have been shown to imitate simple facial movements and head turns,” says Dr. Zangl. “For example, when they see an adult sticking out the tongue, they do so, too. Or when they see a wide open mouth, they open their mouth wide, as well.”
“By the earliest few weeks, your baby will have an expressive face,” says Dr. Honig, especially if you engage her. And, she adds, babies can recognize your voice even before they turn 1 month old. “When the baby is looking elsewhere and you call your baby’s name, your little 3-week-old will turn to search and find your voice and face,” she says.
Babies are very astute social learners and are primed to engage and communicate with people right away, says Dr. Zangl. “How long and how often they do so depends on how the adults engage with them.”
Nurture These Milestones
There are many things you can do to stimulate and nurture your baby’s smiles and social interactions. Dr. Honig emphasizes the importance of using “parentese.” “When the baby is on his or her back on the diaper table, lean over, 12 to 18 inches away, and use loving, high-pitched talk,” Honig advises. And be sure to pause in the conversation to let the baby answer back, she adds.
“Children develop at very different rates,” says Dr. Zangl. “But if parents are concerned and their baby does not seem to make progress in his development and meet developmental milestones, it’s best that parents share their concerns with a specialist earlier than later.”
For more, check out this
Overview of 3-Month-Old Milestones
.
Laurie Bain Wilson is a widely published author and journalist, appearing in the Boston Globe, CNN, Working Mother, Sesame Street Parents, Parents, Parenting and many more outlets.
