Human beings have a series of primary emotions that are usually present in all babies, some appearing from birth, while others develop during the first weeks or months of our life, among which we can highlight sadness, fear, , surprise, anger or joy, and these emotions can be inferred through facial expressions.
A baby’s smile begins to appear during the first weeks of life, normally being interpreted as an expression of joy and a state of well-being; However, the smile during the first year of a baby’s life goes through various phases of development, acquiring a different meaning in each of them.
In this article We are going to explain what a baby’s smile means in each of the phases of development of this emotional expression.
A baby’s smile has different meanings depending on the evolutionary phase in which it is found, being the first to manifest itself the primitive or endogenous smile that usually appears between the first week and the fourth week of life, although the joy and joy. It is common for newborn babies to express their emotional expressions in a bipolar manner; That is, generally in two states, 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 baby is immobilized, crying is produced when the baby is hungry or has difficulty falling asleep, among other reasons; while well-being usually manifests itself initially through behaviors such as attention responses to soft sounds emitted by adults or it can also be manifested through states of calm.
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 age 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 occurred.
A baby’s smile appears early as a kind of grimace that is interpreted positively by adults, leading them to infer that the baby is happy.
Also, a baby’s smile It is a social response that favors the establishment of a very emotional relationship with his father and mother, appearing 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 the parents towards the baby in order for the baby to smile, but rather these first smiles have been triggered independently of the stimuli and the people around you.
Below we will see what are those phases of development of a baby’s smile that appear a few weeks after birth and occur during the first year of life, acquiring a different meaning in each phase.
1. Endogenous smile (from 1 to 4 weeks of age)
During the first weeks of life (between approximately 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 the funny behavior of an adult towards the baby, but rather this initial smile appears regardless of what is happening around it, occurring especially when the baby is asleep when you have just woken up or in response to stimulation through touch by stroking some sensitive areas (e.g., the cheeks or the sole of the foot).
During the first weeks of life, a baby’s smile or cry is not expressed with the intention of communicating something in particular, but simply by crying he or she intends to express his or her state of discomfort and with the smile his or her state of well-being.
And thanks to these expressions, they are of great importance for the baby’s communicative development, since from them he will learn that through his behaviors, he will generate responses in others (for example, the baby cries and the mother interprets that he wants her to pick him up, calming down once she has him in her arms, thus confirming her mother’s attribution).
2. Active smile (5 to 8 weeks)
A baby’s smile begins to change its meaning in the period between between 5 and 8 weeks of age at which point the active smile begins to develop.
The active smile begins to appear towards external stimuli such as his mother’s voice, some dynamic stimuli that he visualizes, such as his parents’ face, due to more intense tactile stimulation than in the previous period, etc.
It should be noted that the active smile usually appears accompanied by cooing, which consists of the emission of vowel sounds in isolation by the baby and which also usually marks the beginning of phonological development at the level of sound production.
3. Social smile (9 to 12 weeks)
From approximately 9 to 12 weeks, the baby’s smile acquires meaning on a social level this smile being called a “social smile”.
The social smile now begins to appear most of the time in social interactions with other people usually with their parents or other relatives.
This is when we can already appreciate a smile, meaning that there is a sensitivity towards the environment that surrounds the baby, so this means that an important change has been developed at an evolutionary level in terms of cognitive and perceptual abilities.
4. Joy, 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 manifest when faced with various very dynamic stimuli that are present in the baby’s visual field, so that they are capable of stimulating several sensory organs simultaneously.
In this case, the conscious smile begins to appear, being a more anticipatory and selective type of smile than the ones he had expressed in previous stages, so that With it you respond to external stimuli that generate pleasure or well-being and you can also smile as a way of expressing recognition (e.g., recognizing your mother’s voice or a smiling face). Normally at this stage they only smile at faces that are familiar to them, so they do not usually smile at strangers.
You may be interested: “The 8 types of emotions (classification and description)”
5. Laughter and smiles during social interactions (from 6 months)
It is already from 6 months onwards when a baby’s smile, as well as his laughter, begin to appear in social interactions with people in his family environment (parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, etc.). This is when they usually laugh out loud at a “fart,” which is that ironic and mocking sound that many adults make with babies.
Besides, During this stage of development is when a baby’s smile begins to diversify slightly so that he is already capable of showing various types of smile in order to express various things (e.g., joy, fun, etc.), so here we 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
Related article: “Primary and secondary socialization: its agents and effects”
6. Diversified laughter and smiles (10 to 12 months)
The last significant stage in the development of a baby’s smile occurs when he or she is between 10 and 12 months old, and the smile 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, being a totally social smile
It should be noted that diversified smiles begin to progressively become contextualized, so that the baby outlines a smile in various situations such as upon the arrival of his mother.
Besides, They usually laugh when they are playing and interacting with a family member (e.g., in the famous game of “peek-a-boo” in which the adult hides his face behind his hands and then shows his face quickly) or when faced with a “fart”, and they can manage to smile, although with certain degree of shyness, when approached by another unknown person who shows a friendly and fun behavior.
Also at this age the baby He may smile when he has achieved something or laugh when something unexpected, surprising, incongruous or funny happens before him Here the baby is already able to use smiling and laughter to express that something makes her happy or surprised, as well as being able to stress that she is having fun.
It is extremely important that when the baby is smiling, the adults who are with him respond pleasantly with another smile or they can also do so with a hug or a caress, since this is a way to facilitate the development of an emotional bond and healthy attachment.
