|
Interpreting Baby Smiles Your First Year as a Parent
A threshold moment for every new parent is when your baby first gazes up at your with an adoring little smile. You
know that at first it might not mean what it means when you smile, but it is still a special moment. And of course,
every parent wants to know if there is a meaning behind that first smile. Some people will tell you it is just a
little indigestion on the part of your baby, but don’t you believe it. That first smile and every smile after that
is something you should be excited about seeing. Those smiles are markers on the road of your child’s development,
and yes, often times, they do have a meaning behind them. So you can take real delight in seeing the smile of your
new baby beyond the cute factor having the little grin up at you.
What is in a smile? The answer to that question really depends on when it happens. The first smiles that your baby
makes, usually during the first month, are the ones that people usually attribute to indigestion. In reality,
though, indigestion has nothing to do it. The smiles you see your baby make during their first month are
involuntary reactions to adjusting to their new world. It can be quite stressful for a baby to adjust to all of the
lights and sounds in your home and to get used to you as a caretaker. To get a little bit of stress relief your
baby smiles. It is their way of blowing off a little steam. Don’t you feel better after putting out a big, toothy
grin? The same goes for baby; the smiles during this time are an involuntary reaction to the stress of their new
environment.
The smiles that come after their first months are the exciting ones, however. These are the ones that have a little
bit more emotional meaning behind them and that come closer to the smiles we associate with later development.
Starting around the second month, babies begin strategically smiling. They being to recognize the way you smile at
them when you are happy, and they try to return the favor to you. They also begin to associate smiles with good
times, and so when something makes them happy, they turn to smiles. That is why they may smile when they are
playing with their toys or hear a song or a voice they like.
After that two month mark, the smiles progressively get more and more strategic and directive. By four months, your
baby will look around to catch your eye to smile at you and they may begin to smile at strangers. Experts believe
that babies begin to do this because they associate smiles from other people as a positive reaction, and they have
learned that if they smile, they usually see one in return. At around five months, babies begin to smile at you
simply because they know you like it. They take note of the excited reactions they get from people when they smile,
and so they smile to get the positive attention.
By the time your baby is close to the 12 month mark, you may begin to see them smiling to themselves as they play.
These smiles can have two different meanings. In some cases, your baby is smiling because they are enjoying what
they are doing. In other cases, they are preparing a smile for you. They are so certain that you will smile back at
them that they don’t even catch your eye first before they work up a smile. Your baby’s smile has meaning at every
stage of development and learning these meanings can help you enjoy them all the more.
| 
Delicious
Google Bookmarks
Stumbleupon
Digg
BlinkList
Blogmarks
Facebook
Ma.gnolia
Reddit
Twitter
Yahoo My Web
Livejournal
