What Does A Baby’s Smile Want To Tell Us?

Most of the gestures or sounds a newborn makes are usually cute in themselves. But there is one that stands out especially in this dimension of tenderness: the smile of a baby. The sensations produced by seeing such a small being burst out laughing have the power to awaken our most sentimental side, as well as a powerful contagious effect.

But what does a baby want to tell us when it smiles? Interestingly, depending on how old you are and the situation in which it occurs, you may be trying to convey one thing or another to us. It is something similar to what happens with crying. They use it as a means, for lack of words, to communicate their intentions and needs.

Sometimes he cries to ask for food. Others because it has gases. Or because he wants his diaper to be changed, due to fever, sleep … For this reason, just as it is convenient to know the cause of crying, it is good to know what a baby’s smile means.

The first weeks is innate

According to numerous studies, during the first weeks of life, smiling is a reflex action. It arises innately, involuntarily and automatically, because it is something for which people are genetically predetermined. The muscle responsible for outlining this gesture is the risorio, which is only present in human beings.

This means that the little one smiles without something necessarily amusing. It is enough for him to hear a pleasant sound, notice a little tingling or see his mother’s face. In many cases, a warm look alone is enough to make you smile.

But as the little one matures, it becomes a response to a specific stimulus. That is, it happens to have a very specific trigger and arises as a way of expressing infinite emotional nuances. Let’s see what the smile of a baby obeys as the months go by.

At two months, a baby’s smile expresses well-being

Two or three months after birth, the smile begins to be an expression of well-being. He shows her when he feels satisfied and only when all his basic needs are covered. It is the purest sign of harmony and happiness. So if your little one smiles, you can rest easy; because everything seems to be going well.

Also, it is a flexible answer, because you can show it in multiple circumstances. For example, after breastfeeding, noticing that your hunger is satisfied. Also after a hot shower, as it feels clean and smells good. When he wakes up in the morning, if he has had a happy night’s rest or when his parents pick him up to play with him.

From the fourth, you are already aware

At 100 days of life and until approximately the sixth, the so-called “conscious smile” originates, which is already selective and anticipatory. That is, it is a response to an external stimulus that generates pleasure or recognition. It is a sign that you are getting used to a daily care routine.

Generators of this smile can be the voice of your mother, a song or a face that approaches you and smiles at you. It should be noted that at this age, the baby already knows how to distinguish between a familiar face and another that is strange to him. For this reason, they are not so friendly with strangers and reserve the smile only for family members.

Suppose the baby likes something and smiles. At that moment, if the adult does it again, they will smile again. Thus, little by little, that gesture will become a sonorous and joyful melody. The first action that usually causes that laugh in the baby is the famous “fart” on his body. Then, the gestures or the game of “cúcú-tras”, in which the adult hides behind his hands and then quickly withdraws them.

But just as this pleasant gesture arises consciously, the opposite also appears at 4 months. It is the moment when the little one also learns to express himself through crying to express his discomfort.

With half a year they have a variety of smiles

Once the first six months have passed, babies can show different types of smile depending on what they want to show: joy, fun, approval… As they grow, their perceptions and sensations become more precise; so the variety of smiles is one more example of that emotional richness that you are acquiring. Thanks to this evolution, the laughs that we like so much and are so contagious appear.

Little by little, he knows how to make others laugh, through his vocalizations, babbling or his gestures and body language. With this, he is reinforcing his social skills and begins to want to be the protagonist and to be part of all kinds of games.

From 9 months to the year he becomes fully aware

At 12 months is the moment in which a baby’s smile is enriched to such an extent that it is already used voluntarily in response to predetermined stimuli. It is a completely social smile, because he uses it to express to others when something brings him happiness, entertainment or surprise; But, you also know when not to use it, if you feel fear, anguish or anger.

It is important that when the baby smiles, the adult responds in a pleasant and friendly way. With another smile, with a caress, with a cuddle, a hug or playing. Because it is the best way to forge that affective bond and attachment. It is also a way of teaching the little one that the figure in front of him is someone other than him.