One of the best compensations for sleepless nights with a newborn? Being greeted by your baby’s very first gummy grins, which can occur within the first few weeks. But when babies are 2 months old, they typically begin to flash a different kind of smile. This is an intentional, conscious smile, as your baby learns to connect with you or responds to seeing or hearing you.
Read on to find out when you can expect to see your baby’s first “real” smiles, what they mean and fun ways to encourage your happy baby to keep grinning.
When do babies start smiling?
Babies initially smile as a reflex, which usually happens while they sleep. Typically, babies start smiling socially, which some think of as “real” smiles, between 6 and 12 weeks, usually due to recognising a caregiver or because a sight, sound, physical sensation or other input has given them pleasure.
According to the government-supported Pregnancy, Birth and Baby service, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor or maternal child health care nurse if your baby hasn’t smiled by the 2-month mark — an important part of their social and emotional development. A baby’s smile gets a predictable response from a parent, which gives them the confidence that they can exert some control over their world. And so even at this young age, the child’s self-esteem starts to grow.
Understanding physical vs. social developmental milestones in infants
Physical milestones include events such as rolling over or crawling that occur when the infant has the muscle coordination or strength to perform the tasks. On the other hand, social milestones are those associated with interactions and emotions, including behaviours such as smiling, laughing and mimicking facial expressions.
Between 6 and 12 weeks, both physical and social milestones occur, which help us understand why this is the time babies start to smile. Infants develop greater visual acuity during this period, which allows them to recognise the faces of caregivers. Meanwhile, their emotional development is progressing at the same time. By giving positive reinforcement in the form of cuddling, smiling or comforting words and sounds, the parent teaches the infant that smiling is good.
How do I encourage my baby to smile?
One of the most important things that families can do to support physical and emotional development for infants is to be present and interact with their infants in a calm and comforting manner. This includes talking, singing and reading to the infant.
Here are some other tips for interacting with infants and ways to encourage smiling:
Smile at your baby
Babies learn through what they see and they often start with the facial expressions they see most often. So smiling at babies, especially when they smile at you, helps reinforce the idea that smiling is fun and socially beneficial.
React to what they are interested in
As you get to know your baby, you will start to learn what kinds of things they enjoy as well as the things that they do not like. This includes different types of sounds, touches and facial expressions.
To encourage smiling, first pay attention to how your baby responds to stimuli around them. Watch where they tend to look and how they like to move to see where their interest naturally lies, then go from there to encourage smiles. For example, if your baby is tuned into your voice, try playing with different ways of talking or singing to your baby. If they tend to stay focused on your face, try changing your facial expressions.
Put down the phone
Babies learn to seek out eye contact and want to see your face. While many parents want to capture their interactions on video or through photos, keep in mind that phones and cameras can distract your baby from seeing and responding to you. Putting your phone down and really focusing on your baby can help those social smiles to shine.
When should I worry about my baby not smiling?
If an infant is not smiling by 12 weeks of age, it is important to share this concern with your healthcare professional. Infants don’t develop according to a strict schedule, but failure to develop these skills within that time frame might suggest an impairment in either the infant’s hearing or vision.
Within this timeframe, however, experts emphasise that the exact timing for seeing your baby’s first smile varies between children, and that is perfectly normal. Just like the rest of us, babies have differences in how they learn and develop. They might meet one developmental milestone on the earlier end of the expected range, and another on the later end.
Babies also have different ways of responding to their environment. The kinds of stimuli that might cause one baby to smile in happiness — a light tickle, funny face or silly singing voice — might prompt another baby to wiggle their little body in bliss.
What comes after smiling for babies?
Smiling advances into the development of more fun new social skills. According to Health Direct, you can expect a baby to start cooing around the same time, and laughing typically begins around 4 months.
Once they’ve mastered smiling, infants will begin to mimic sounds, with cooing, giggling and other vocalisations. Language development begins early in infancy with recognising caregivers’ voices, tones and expressions. By 6 months of age, infants will recognise speech patterns and be able to respond accordingly.
The bottom line on smiling in newborns
A baby’s very first smile tends to be a reflex rather than a conscious behaviour, and occurs within the first few weeks. Between 6 to 12 weeks, babies begin smiling in response to something that makes them happy. These first “real” smiles are an important part of your baby’s social and emotional development, which is why your paediatrician will likely ask about this developmental milestone during your 2-month check-up.
Developmental milestones are a series of events that tend to fit a generally predictable pattern. For both physical and social milestones, there is an age range when they tend to happen; however, experts agree that the exact timing of your baby’s first smile can vary.
Parents can get anxious when their baby isn’t exhibiting certain behaviours or responses within the typical timeframe. But rest assured: there is a range of what is considered typical when it comes to developmental milestones.
