When do babies start smiling back

In addition to all the warm fuzzies the social smile brings, it is also an important part of a baby's social and emotional development. When you reliably respond to your baby's cues about when they are ready for play and when they need a break, you let them know that their thoughts and feelings are important.

Because a baby's smile gets such a predictable response from a parent, they start to feel confident that they can exert some control over their world. The child's self-esteem starts to grow, even at this young age. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Please enable scripts and reload this page. Turn on more accessible mode. Turn off more accessible mode. Skip Ribbon Commands.

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Ages and Stages. Healthy Living. Safety and Prevention. Family Life. Health Issues. Tips and Tools. Our Mission. Find a Pediatrician. Text Size. Although your baby is unique and will exhibit his or her own personality, most babies grow emotionally and socially in certain predictable patterns. Author: Healthwise Staff. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information.

Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. Updated visitor guidelines. Top of the page. Emotional and Social Development, Ages 1 to 12 Months.

Topic Overview Emotional and social growth during the first year of life can be both fascinating and exciting. You may have caught baby working on her smile on a second-trimester or later ultrasound, or seen it for the first time on her sleeping face soon after she arrived.

The truth is, they're right in that these reflexive smiles differ from the social smiles yet to come. But if you prefer not to care, that's just fine! Newborns may smile when passing gas, falling asleep, feeling comfy or peeing. Feel free to revel in those sweet first smiles, no matter what their cause.

Who could blame you? Before she launches her first full-fledged social smile, you may see your baby doing lots of smile trial runs, practicing and exploring how her mouth moves. For a social smile, she'll use her whole face, not just her mouth — you'll notice the difference when you see it.

Her social smile will soon become another way for her to communicate with you and connect with the world around her. To help your baby along, smile at her, cuddle her, play with her and talk to her often. You can't spoil a newborn, and numerous studies have shown that babies who receive lots of parental care and affection early on develop faster, have larger brains and are more sociable. So if you can't wait to see those first real smiles, snuggle away, and smile at her like she's the best thing since sliced bread which, really, she is.

Just as some adults are quicker to smile than others, some babies are too. If your 1-month-old still isn't smiling, don't be alarmed. That first "real" smile can seem frustratingly elusive, because for even some of the happiest babies, it can happen any time between 4 weeks and 4 months of age.