At what age does a child begin to smile? From the unconscious to the conscious. When the baby smiles

A newborn cries and sulks much more often than he smiles. The smile that appears in a child is only its semblance, called a “stomach” smile. This is the baby’s reflexive reaction to the fact that he is fed, clean, well-groomed and nothing hurts. Mom will see a real smile caused by positive emotions only in a few weeks, by which time little man learn to show emotions.

The first smile of a newborn baby is not emotional, but gastric

A smile is an indicator of proper development

The vision of a newborn child is farsighted. The first few days of life, the baby sees only the outlines of objects, their shadows, your movement and light, but he is not able to see his mother’s face. A month will pass before the baby will be able to clearly see your warm smile and try to repeat it. Psychologists voice a period of three weeks, pointing to the development of a “revival complex” in the baby’s mind. Starting at this age, babies react to events happening around them. Motor activity increases, the first sounds appear.

If you ask when a child begins to smile and his emotion is conscious, then you should take into account the due date. Premature babies begin to show their positive emotions later than those who were born at the right time. Approaching the age of 8-9 months, children experience a certain psychological “crisis”. Having a good understanding of who they see, babies react positively to those they know and may cry if someone smiles at them. stranger. Seeing such a reaction, you get a definite answer to the question of when the child began to consciously smile.

When does a real smile appear?

This article talks about typical ways to solve your issues, but each case is unique! If you want to find out from me how to solve your particular problem, ask your question. It's fast and free!

Mom, of course, is worried about how long it will take for her treasure to answer her with a real smile that expresses his feelings. The formation of the mentioned “revival complex” is completed by 2 months, and by 4 months it acquires a pronounced designation. The baby greets his family with a smiling face, reacting in this way to the pleasant words and behavior of the adults around him. Much depends on your communication with your son or daughter. When checking the level of development of your baby, the pediatrician will definitely observe his initiative in displaying the “revitalization complex.” By the way, in order for a smile to appear on our face, 17 facial muscles are involved.

By the age of two months, the child has a conscious smile when he is happy and well

A baby’s vision returns to normal by 6-8 weeks, then he can already focus his attention, which means that images become clear and understandable. The next stage of development occurs between 5 and 12 weeks; during this period, the baby begins to react to familiar faces and voices. The baby learns to identify animate and inanimate objects, he understands that he sees a person and knows where the chair is. Pediatricians refer to this distinction as the correct tempo mental development. Together with the body, the brain of a small person grows. The following abilities appear:

recognition of emotions expressed by an adult;
there is a transmission of nerve impulses to some parts of the brain;
relaxation and tension of the facial muscles occurs.

If the baby does not smile, this does not indicate a developmental delay. Neurologists and pediatricians explain the baby's unsmiling behavior by: inability to hold his head up, reluctance to make contact with other people, lack of concentration for short periods of time.

Problems that arise can be easily corrected if they are dealt with early age and with the help of a specialist.

How does a baby learn to laugh?

Now, seeing the baby’s face shining with pleasure, the parents can’t wait for his first laugh. Let us turn to the findings of neurologists, which make it clear when a child begins to laugh and at what age. This happens by the 20-30th week, provided the baby is developing normally. Experts also point to individual characteristics, without connecting the timing of the appearance of the first laughter with intellectual abilities small personality. Some “laughers” begin to laugh out loud as early as 3 months, while the concentrated “smarties” just giggle restrainedly. Only you can answer when your child starts laughing out loud.

Is your baby bursting into laughter just like that? No problem, he's just having fun!

The tone of laughter also depends on the parental example. Remember how you laugh, and you will understand that the baby is imitating you. The parents' temperament is absorbed by the baby, hence the boisterous laughter and the quiet, restrained chuckle. Example of adults - important factor, which determines the baby’s ability to laugh. Please note that smiling and laughter will help your daughter or son communicate easily with peers.

Help the baby: talk to him more, do not skimp on emotions, hug, kiss. Develop positive thinking your treasure, reading to him funny stories, poetry, listen to pleasant, joyful music with him.

You see that your peers little son are already laughing uncontrollably, but your child doesn’t want to smile, don’t worry and don’t burden yourself with questions “why” and “why”. It’s just that your child develops individually, as befits an individual. The time will come when the child will begin to laugh loudly and heartily. Take a closer look at him, and if you hear that some of his smiles are accompanied by the sounds “ghu”, “aha”, “khi”, then everything is in order with him, and he will burst into laughter no worse than his peers, you just need to wait a little . There is no reason to worry even if the baby laughs for no reason. Support his desire and laugh with him.

How to make a baby smile?

Copying and imitating are the main actions that children take to fit into the adult world. A family in which they often smile and laugh is an excellent springboard for a child to show a smile. Psychologists offer two simple rules that will help your child learn to express such positive emotions like joy and pleasure.

First rule

No one will teach your child to smile unless you do it yourself. Experts unanimously advise parents to show a lot of positive emotions when communicating with their little treasure. Constantly show him how happy and valuable it is for you to have him in your life. Give him reciprocal feelings, coo and laugh, and the child will remember and repeat the smile.

Laugh with your baby, play with him, but remember that the child should be well-fed and happy. Then the baby will answer you with his pure childish laughter.

He may not speak yet, but you have an effective tool that you can exchange with him, sending wonderful emotions: smile if your child greets you with a smile. Looking at a happily smiling child, the mother experiences a beneficial excitement, leading to the production of endorphin, the hormone of happiness. Obviously, such emotions are useful for both the baby and the mother.

Second rule

The tricks that mothers and fathers go to in order to see their child smiling or laughing constitute the 2nd rule. Dad is building funny faces, mom sings funny songs, grandma gently tickles the baby. It’s great if all these actions are carried out in right time, and they really help. A hungry or sleepy baby is unlikely to reciprocate your feelings. It is completely inappropriate to “jump” in front of him if he is suffering from colic. Entertain your treasure if it is fed, washed, and complacently disposed to your fun exercises.

Just two simple rules, and how much benefit they bring to a developing personality. The baby’s spiritual harmony contributes to proper functioning nervous system. The positive emotions you give him create a joyful perception in him huge world. A happy and beloved baby grows strong, healthy and kind. Smile more often to put your baby in a cheerful mood.

The first sounds a baby makes are reminiscent of humming.

How do emotions give birth to words?

When assessing the level of development of a newborn, the pediatrician must check his speech skills. The most important indicator– the age at which the baby tries to pronounce the first sounds (we recommend reading:). A sure sign Pediatricians believe that speech formation is important.

Its first manifestations should begin at 2 months. Initially, the baby makes separate sounds: “a-a” and “oo-oo”. Gradually they turn into syllables like “da-da”, “aa-gu”, which, in fact, is called humming. Doctors define them as vocalizations.

Experiencing joyful emotions from communicating with adults, the baby involuntarily begins to add cooing to his smile. Having uttered a sound for the first time, the child “tastes” it, cooing to himself. As he grows up, he tries to reproduce other sounds he has heard. Sometimes the humming sounds like singing. Great if the buzzing is reinforced motor activity and eyes wide open. This reaction indicates full development crumbs.

Positive emotions, walking, speech - this is an unbreakable chain that characterizes normal development psyche of a little person. The participation of parents who are able to give their treasure a lot of positive emotions is invaluable. It would seem that it’s just a pleasant conversation, a warm smile, and the baby undergoes a very complex process of turning into a real person.

Can anything please a young mother after a difficult day full of worries, after a sleepless night, more than the smile of her baby? Just his first smile! Agree, looking into this happy face with lips stretched out in an uncertain smile, you forget about everything in the world: about crying all night long, about a stiff back, about still fresh, not the most pleasant impressions from the maternity hospital and you understand that you love this miracle more than anything in the world!

A child's first smile is a ray of sunshine for mommy.

From unconscious to conscious

Sometimes a newborn begins to smile while still in the maternity hospital, literally a day or two after birth. But such babies usually smile in their sleep and their smiles are not a manifestation joyful emotions, but rather simply a spontaneous contraction of the facial muscles (doctors call this kind of smile a reflex smile). But still, watching the smiling face of a sleeping baby is so nice!

By about 6 - 8 weeks (sometimes 10 - 12), when the child's vision improves, when he can already distinguish faces tilted towards him and focus his attention on them, he has the ability to express joy and pleasant sensations with a smile.

Often, simultaneously with this skill, the baby begins to move his arms and legs more actively and tries to “look” into his mother’s eyes. Pediatricians call this behavior a “manifestation of the revival reflex.” It is believed that at this time the baby can already distinguish living objects from non-living ones and begins to be more interested in the former. The presence of such manifestations is clear evidence of normal, proper development crumbs.

Hey Barsik, look at me! Do as I do, do as I do!

Remember that in order to smile, you need to use 17 facial muscles and this is very difficult for a baby to do! And besides, at this stage of development he still has so much to learn, so much to comprehend! Therefore, you should not focus on the fact that at 6 weeks and 5 days the baby is not yet smiling (although his girlfriend is already laughing with all his might) - it’s better to rejoice at his small victories and achievements!

Friends like these will make anyone laugh.

It seems to us that the baby smiles consciously solely because he feels good, comfortable, because mom and dad are nearby and smile at him, because nothing hurts.

Psychologists say that children very quickly understand that smiling is another way to manipulate adults and attract their attention.

However, in any case, it is definitely clear that a laughing baby cannot be dissatisfied with anything! It’s better to attract attention with smiles and laughter than with crying and hysterics!

, this is a huge stress, both for the baby himself and for his parents. The child experiences constant discomfort, cries a lot, and loses appetite. In order to somehow distract the baby, you need to keep him occupied, play with him, pick him up and hug him more often.

During the first year, newborn babies should gain weight. However, this process proceeds differently for all children. He will tell you more about weight gain in a newborn.

How to teach to smile?

All children are little repeaters. And, of course, the child who sees smiling adults around him will begin to smile faster. That's why Mom and dad should definitely smile at the baby more, talk to him, show how happy they are for him. When the baby begins to give adults his smiles, they must smile back at him.

The exchange of smiles is the first conscious dialogue, which, according to psychologists, lays the foundation for all social relations child in the future, this is his first experience of establishing contacts with the outside world.

A smile forms the foundation of reciprocity and trust in a relationship - a child, seeing his parents’ smile back, understands that he is seen, noticed that he is important to others.

To make a child smile, a mother must be a reader, a reaper, and a trumpet player.

Of course, parents really want their baby to start smiling and laughing as quickly as possible. To do this, they show funny faces, and sing songs to him, and try to tickle him, and bother him - this is quite normal. You just need to choose the right time for this.

Well then!

So, you should not try to get a smile from a hungry or sleepy child, when he has colic or when he is simply naughty. For such “smile stimulation”, the baby must be well-fed, dry, well-rested and calm.- this is an almost fantastic set of conditions for a baby! By the way, babies often begin to smile in response to pleasant, light stroking movements, to the touch of warm parental hands.

Even the smallest person in the family should have his own crib, and in it. When choosing the latter, parents have many problems. Not everyone knows that soft mattresses are strictly contraindicated for children. The best option would be an orthopedic coconut fiber mattress.

Most of the time during the first year of his life, the baby sleeps; in his sleep he grows and develops. Organize healthy sleep the newborn will be helped.

When should you start worrying?

Reluctance or inability to smile is extremely rare on its own, without additional physiological signs or functional disorders. In the presence of serious problems, neurologists and pediatricians note several deviations in the child’s development, in addition to the lack of a smile:

inability to hold head up
complete reluctance to contact other people,
inability to focus attention even briefly.

Leave me, I don't want to see anyone.

In any case, you need to remember that all children are special, each one develops in its own way. In addition, babies are naturally more or less smiling, and all parents are also emotional in different ways. Therefore, do not rush to panic and sound the alarm! But, of course, with the least doubt, it is better to talk to your pediatrician, discuss the issues that concern you and calm down.

All children are different. Remember, everything has its time.

A child's first smile is truly happiness. But let us note once again that when a child begins to smile and at what weeks is a purely individual matter and there is no need to follow the example of faster-developing peers. The main thing is that the baby is healthy, that he grows emotionally calm atmosphere and so that his parents surround him with love and affection. And believe me, very soon he will turn from a little capricious person into a laughing toddler, happy with life!

The period when the child begins to smile and plays huge role for parents. True, such actions of a baby do not always mean the expression of conscious emotions. Experts recommend focusing on developing this skill. increased attention, because it indicates the level of development of the baby.

Depending on how many months the toddler smiled for the first time in response to some positive stimulus, we can say about the degree of his closeness with his parents and others. There are several actions that can bring you closer to the moment when your baby actually smiles sincerely and with understanding.

The first unconscious attempts to demonstrate a smile

The baby is able to portray some semblance of a smile already in the very first days after birth. True, these attempts have nothing to do with the little man’s senses. In such tender age children do not yet react so clearly to what they see and hear, and the muscles simply reflexively contract, as if testing their capabilities. A slightly later smile, again, does not carry a social load, but already expresses satisfaction with what is happening. A baby can “react” this way to a hearty lunch, a pleasant massage, or comfort during sleep.

Children consciously begin to smile at others only after 1-2 months. It is this period of time that they often need to master the dozens of facial muscles that are involved in the formation of a smile. A significant role in the implementation of this type facial actions plays and the launch of complex processes brain activity. The toddler must see the face, realize that it is familiar to him, evaluate his attitude towards to a specific person and respond appropriately. Only after all the impulses have reached their goal, some muscles will relax, others will contract, which will lead to the formation of a smile.

The first conscious smile – what can it express?

Numerous studies have allowed experts to identify several types of meaning of a child’s smile. When a newborn reaches 2-3 months of age, he will use his newly acquired skill for the following purposes:

Expression of mood. In this case, the toddler smiles in response to something pleasant. It could be the mother who came up, funny song, a sign of attention from a passerby.
Copying facial expressions. Often children smile just because someone is smiling at them. It is noteworthy that this does not have to be a person. Sometimes a photograph, a picture, a toy or a dog with its mouth open is enough.

Advice: During those periods when the baby smiles, it is recommended to talk to him, show him some new toys, pictures, objects that strengthen positive emotions. This will stimulate the child's consciousness, activating his mental and emotional development.

An attempt to attract attention. Children quickly begin to realize that their smile attracts others and begin to actively use it.

Practice shows that an active and cheerful baby will use his smile with enviable regularity when communicating with everyone around him until he is 7 months old. After which a crisis period will begin, characterized by the emergence of a feeling of suspicion towards strangers. This is psychological feature and indicates normal development of the baby.

Smile as a sign of active development

A smiling baby often accompanies his facial expressions with movements of his arms or legs and shrill sounds. In medicine this is called the “revitalization complex.” It is characterized by the infant's ability to fixate pleasant emotion, by responding with a smile, joyful cries, movement of limbs and increased breathing.

Many toddlers are able to regulate the severity of listed manifestations. It happens that the baby performs all the listed actions even before anyone pays attention to him. This call for communication allows children and parents to establish close contact.

This complex begins to form in infants already in the third week of life and manifests itself in full at 3-4 months. But if this does not happen, do not panic. You can find a logical and not at all scary explanation for everything.

What to do if the child does not start smiling?

All children develop differently, so you shouldn’t be surprised if one newborn is smiling with all his might at 4 weeks, and the second waits until 12 weeks. Such inhibition may be explained by the fact that the baby simply has not yet understood the meaning of a specific action or has not experienced emotions that cause a smile.

Regardless of how many months the toddler is, parents should follow the following procedure:

Contact your child as often and for as long as possible, spend everything with him free time and even “connect” to your everyday worries.
Stroke him over open areas of skin, hold him close, put him to bed with you.
Talk to him regularly, using soft intonations, tender words, various facial expressions.
The baby will smile much faster if he regularly sees a smile performed by his mother or father.

Of course, in some cases, a lack of emotion may indicate serious violations in the child’s psyche or disruptions in the functioning of the nervous system. But these points are established much earlier, during mandatory visits to the pediatrician and neurologist.

A woman who has experienced childbirth understands how exhausted the body can be. Only the baby forces the young mother to continue to be active and take care of all the needs of the little “boss”.

At the first stage of a child’s life, it is important for a mother to simply learn to understand him. Except sleeping or screaming baby, she’s unlikely to see anything yet. But once the period of infancy passes (the first 28 days of life), the mother is finally fully aware of her role. And, of course, she wants the baby to respond to her warmth. It's no wonder that all parents look forward to their baby's first smile.

I smile when I'm in a good mood, I'm dry and my tummy doesn't hurt!

A smile is a gift!

You've probably heard the expression “a smile for no reason is a sign of a fool” more than once. In the adult world, a person who, for no reason at all, begins to smile causes bewilderment to those around him. Things are different for children. They smile not when someone told a joke, but when they feel good.

If the baby smiles, then this is an excellent sign of proper mental development. But don’t worry if your friend’s child is already laughing, but yours is just frowning. All children are individual. There is only one thing in common.

Any child will definitely smile if he feels good. Perhaps this is why the first smile most often appears at night. The baby is not quite used to the world yet; noise and light can irritate him. But a warm bed after a swim and tasty milk is the best remedy in order to make the little one happy.

Also, you must remember that children's vision is very poor from the very beginning. Mom can stand over the crib for hours with a tight smile, but the baby simply won’t see her. You will feel when the little eyes will not just peer into the distance, but will concentrate on mom’s face.

Warm bed, soft hat, beloved mother nearby! What else is needed for happiness?

It is necessary to wait until the moment when the child is physiologically developed so much that he can easily perceive the world around him.

First smile: how and when

Typically, many babies begin to smile after the 1st month of life. The baby jerks his arms and legs, cutting through the air, trying to look into the eyes. A conscious smile is not just joy for parents, but also confirmation that the child is growing and developing. You simply cannot miss or ignore this phenomenon. Some women compare the emotion of their first smile with the moment they saw their baby for the first time after giving birth. But then he still could not see his mother normally. This is a turning point - the little man looked at the world in a new way and began to evaluate it.

Who is this beautiful aunt? Yes, this is my mom!

5-6 months is perfect time to start feeding cereals. Read how to choose delicious cereals for your little gourmet and how to properly introduce them into your diet.

Time flies, now your baby is already running around the apartment and grabbing everything around! 2-3 years is exactly the time when it’s time to work on a child’s motor skills. will help develop your baby's speech, thinking and intelligence.

Why is the child smiling?

Many researchers believe that a child rejoices, laughs and smiles only to attract attention. But it’s unlikely that even one mother will agree with this.

As soon as the baby sees a person, he immediately begins to show his disposition to play or communicate. A child is not a being who simply depends on certain functions, but, first of all, a child joyfully exploring the world.

Even the smile of a random passerby can cause a storm of emotions in a little person!

Until seven months, the baby smiles happily at everyone who is friendly to him. This suggests that he constantly experiences different emotions and does not hide them at all. The eighth and ninth months for many children are crisis period. It is characterized by the fact that the child begins to understand very well where “friends” are and where “not theirs”. So don’t be surprised if he constantly reaches out to his parents’ arms and cries at the harmless smile of a passerby.

After nine months, the baby sees everything in a completely different light. He divides even strangers into good and bad.

Senses training: how is it?

For us, expressing feelings is a common thing. But the child must learn everything. Therefore, you should take time to develop sensations and manifestations in him. Have a good mood. Choose those moments when the baby is full, does not want to sleep and is in the best mood. You need to play with the baby, tickle him, make different faces or make funny sounds. This way the child will learn to understand what is funny and what is not. Don't be afraid to offend your child. If you don't make fun of him, he won't understand what sarcasm is for a long time. This will lead to constant resentment and tears. Moreover, the child will have an excellent sense of humor.

Who better than dad can make his beloved son laugh!

Did you know that there are a lot of reasons... Perhaps the baby has stomach problems, or is suffering from constipation and colic. Some babies are born with hair, which also causes a lot of trouble!

Should I worry if my baby sleeps for a long time? How often do you put your baby to the breast? How to organize a healthy and comfortable sleep? Look for answers to these and other questions.

When is the best time to train your baby?

A hungry child will clearly not like being pulled by the arms or constantly being told something. And then mothers are also offended why their child doesn’t smile. Think about it, maybe you yourself are doing the wrong thing.

So, try to make him smile only when he:

cannot lie down in one place;
opens his eyes wide, as if surprised;
tries to walk;
twitches his arms and tries to reach everything he sees.

All of the above points are just an incentive for the baby. Caring helps him to be happy and calm. As for the first smile, not a single specialist and not a single experienced mother, will not be able to say exactly when the baby will start smiling.

Don't worry about it. After all, parents should love their child for who he is. The first smile will never go away. And it doesn’t matter at all whether the baby smiles at 1 month or at 3 months. The main thing is that you have this treasure. Take care of him and try to do everything to make your communication with him happy for both of you.

Smile small child- it's always small holiday for his mom, dad, grandparents. And what can we say about the first smile - it’s like a gift from heaven, a reward for sleepless nights and difficult parenting work. Why doesn’t he do this, while the neighbor’s kid the same age gives everyone a smile? Many young parents ask these questions. We will try to answer them in our article.

A child's smile is not only pleasant event in family life, but also an indicator of normal mental, physical and mental development, the beginning of the baby’s socialization. Therefore, the moment, consciously, is a kind of next step in the long road of his development.

“My child started smiling in the hospital!” - many mothers say. Don't take their words to heart. What they call a smile is just a grimace, an unconscious contraction of certain muscles that looks like a smile.

When answering a question from concerned parents about the appearance of the baby’s first conscious smile, the pediatrician will tell them the age of 1.5-2 months. This smile is usually addressed to the mother (or the person replacing her). Here, a lot depends on the baby’s environment: if from the very first days there are caring parents next to the baby, who communicate with him all the time, often pick him up, maintain eye and voice contact, he will begin to smile at 6 weeks. If the child is given less attention, this will happen only by two months or a little later. Therefore, do not be upset if your child does not smile in a month, there is nothing wrong with that. You just need to wait.

When the child begins to smile, we can talk about the formation of the so-called emotional-motor reaction of the baby in response to the appearance or address of an adult. This complex begins its formation already at the age of three weeks from birth: the child freezes and looks intently when an adult speaks to him. Later, by two months, this reaction develops into smiling, humming, and when communicating with an adult. The peak of formation of the revitalization complex is four months of age. Later, laughter appears, but the smile is less and less common to strangers, even if they speak kindly to the baby, often he will even cry in such cases.

By how many months a child smiles, one can to some extent judge the atmosphere in the family, the attitude of the mother towards him, her emotional state. Even if you think that the child does not understand anything, talk to him, this way you will speed up his speech and psycho-emotional development: He will start walking and smiling earlier.

Experts say that boys make eye contact less often and begin to smile later than their girls the same age. Therefore, if you have a growing son, spend more time communicating with him.

The period when a child begins to smile can be decisive in the development of his relationship with his father. The baby begins to send signals, and if the father responds with facial expressions and voice, a special emotional connection will be established between them, even if there was none before.

The day your baby starts smiling will be the beginning of a long, but... interesting process in his life - socialization.