What does a baby's smile mean?

Human beings have a series of primary emotions that are usually present in all babies, some appearing from that we are born, while others we develop during the first weeks or months of our lives, among which highlight sadness, fear, surprise, anger or joy, and these emotions can be inferred through expressions facials.

A baby's smile begins to appear during the first weeks of life, being normally interpreted as an expression of joy and well-being; however, the smile during the first year of life of babies goes through various phases of development, acquiring a different meaning in each one of them.

In this article We are going to explain what a baby's smile means in each of the development phases of this emotional expression.

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What does a baby's smile indicate?

The smile of a baby has different meanings depending on the evolutionary phase in which it is, being the first to manifest the primitive or endogenous smile that usually appears between the first week and the fourth of life, although the joy and joy. It is common for newborn babies to express their emotional expressions in a bipolar way; that is, in two states generally, these being the state of well-being and, on the other hand, the state of discomfort.

Normally, the state of discomfort or being upset usually appears when the patient is immobilized. baby, crying is produced when he is hungry or has difficulty falling asleep, among other things reasons; while well-being is usually manifested initially through behaviors such as responses to attention to soft sounds emitted by adults or can also be manifested through states of quiet.

Around 3 months of life, the expression of joy and happiness emerges, giving greater meaning to a baby's smile, which until then had been more reflective. However, it should be said that from 9 weeks of life a baby's smile can begin to appear in response to external stimuli.

here we will see what does a baby's smile mean and what they intend to convey depending on their age and also the context in which it was produced.

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Development stages of a baby's smile

A baby's smile appears early on as a kind of grimace that is interpreted positively by adults, leading them to infer that he is happy.

Also, the smile of a baby It is a social response that favors the establishment of a very affective relationship with his father and mother., coming to appear for the first time during the first weeks of life; however, these first smiles are considered reflexive because they are not triggered by any specific stimulus, such as the intentional behavior of their partners. parents towards the baby in order for him to smile, but these first smiles have been triggered regardless of the stimuli and the people around him. around.

Next we will see what are those phases of development of a baby's smile that appear after a few weeks after birth and take place during the first year of life, acquiring in each phase a meaning different.

1. Endogenous smile (from 1 to 4 weeks of life)

During the first weeks of life (approximately between the first and fourth), a baby's smile appears for the first time, this being an endogenous smile, also frequently referred to as reflex or spontaneous.

This endogenous smile does not appear in response to any specific external stimulus, such as behavior. funny from an adult to the baby, but this initial smile appears regardless of what is happening around him, occurring especially when the baby is asleep, when just waking up or in response to stimulation through touch by caressing some sensitive areas (eg. g., the cheeks or the sole of the foot).

During the first weeks of life, a baby's smile or cry are not expressed with the intention of communicating something. in particular, but simply by crying she intends to express her state of discomfort and with a smile that of well-being.

And it is that thanks to these expressions they are of great importance for the baby's communicative development, since from them she will learn that through her behavior, she will generate responses in others (p. e.g., that the baby cries and the mother interprets that she wants her to hold him, calming down once she holds him in her arms, so that she confirms the attribution of her mother).

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2. Active smile (5 to 8 weeks)

The smile of a baby begins to change its meaning in the period covered between 5 and 8 weeks of age, at which time the active smile begins to develop.

The active smile begins to appear towards external stimuli, such as the voice of her mother, some dynamic stimuli that she visualizes, such as the face of her parents, due to a more intense tactile stimulation than in the previous period, etc.

It should be noted that the active smile usually appears accompanied by coos, which consist of the emission of vowel sounds of isolated form by the baby and that also usually marks the beginning of phonological development at the level of the production of sounds.

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3. Social smile (9 to 12 weeks)

From approximately 9 to 12 weeks, the baby's smile acquires a meaning at a social level, being this smile known as "social smile".

The social smile already begins to appear on most occasions in social interactions with other people, being normally with her parents or other relatives of her.

This is when we can already appreciate a smile meaning that there is a sensitivity towards the environment that surrounds the baby, so that this supposes that an important change has been developed at an evolutionary level in terms of cognitive and perceptive capacities.

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4. Happiness, joy and laughter and the conscious smile (3 to 4 months)

Between 2 and 4 months of life an important milestone arises regarding the meaning of a baby's smile, since it is when joy or happiness arises and laughter also appears, being expressed in a way quite similar to the smile.

Joy or laughter usually appear as a manifesto in the face of various very dynamic stimuli that are found present in the baby's visual field, so that they are able to stimulate various sensory organs simultaneously.

In this one it begins to look like the conscious smile, being a more anticipatory and selective kind of smile than the ones she had expressed in previous stages, so that with it he responds to external stimuli that generate pleasure or well-being and can also smile as a way of expressing recognition (p. g., by recognizing his mother's voice or a smiling face). Normally at this stage they only smile at faces that are familiar to them, so in front of strangers they do not usually smile.

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5. Laughter and smiles during social interactions (from 6 months)

It is already from 6 months when the smile of a baby, as well as their laughter, begin to appear before social interactions with people in their family environment (parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, etc). This is when they usually get to laugh out loud at a "fart", which is that ironic and mocking sound that many adults make with babies.

What's more, It is during this stage of development that a baby's smile begins to diversify slightly., so that she is already capable of showing various types of smile in order to express various things (p. g., joy, fun, etc.), so here you can already see that the baby has acquired a considerable variety of emotional expressions.

Through these laughs, smiles or any gesture begins to express himself with adults and in this way develops his social skills.

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6. Diversified laughter and smiles (10 to 12 months)

The last significant stage in the development of a baby's smile takes place when they are between 10 and 12 months old, with a smile that is even more diversified than in the previous stage. The small already uses the smile voluntarily as a form of response to a series of predetermined stimuli, already being a totally social smile.

It should be noted that the diversified smiles begin to be progressively contextualized, so that the baby outlines a smile in various situations such as before the arrival of his mother.

What's more, often laugh when they are playing and interacting with a family member (p. g., in the famous peek-a-boo game in which the adult hides his face behind his hands and then shows his face quickly) or before a "fart", and They can even smile, albeit with a certain degree of shyness, when approached by another unknown person but who shows a friendly and fun behavior.

Also at this age the baby he can even smile when she has achieved something or laugh when something unexpected, surprising, incongruous or funny happens to him. Here the baby is already able to use smile and laughter to express that something makes him happy or surprised, as well as being able to stress that he is having fun.

It is of utmost importance that when the baby is smiling, the adults with him respond pleasantly with another smile or they can also do it with a hug or a caress, since this is a way to facilitate the development of an emotional bond and attachment healthy.