One of the most awaited moment for any new parents is to get a glance at their baby’s smile and moreover, their giggles. Although this small gesture from your baby may seem to be the most magical and emotional thing, their giggle is also a sign of your baby’s overall development.
A smile and laughter is the sign that your baby has been developing emotionally, visually as well as socially. While their smile keeps mesmerizing your family and friends, your baby’s laugh can also signify their happiness which says that they like it what’s going on around them. A smile from your baby is a rewarding experience that you find after weeks of their eating, sleeping and blinking routines.
Although laughing and smiling are quite similar, these come apart when it comes to babies. The babies can smile a lot faster than they start laughing. Although the smiles from newborns in the first month of birth may be emotionless, their laughs mean that they are enjoying the scene. Babies start smiling even before their birth and at the first month of their birth, their smile is empty (they smile without feeling anything) and is just a reflex of the muscles. As they grow in weeks, they smile less often and when they are around 2-3 months old, they start smiling by recognizing the faces of their parents and strange sounds.
When do babies start laughing?
Babies first start their giggles normally when they reach the age of 2-3 months. At this age, they start recognizing faces (mostly their parents’) and respond to stimulation. You can find your baby laughing when you make faces and play with him/her. Babies also respond to sound, music and parent’s voices and start smiling and laughing at visual stimulations.
Although, 2-3 months is the normal age for your baby to start laughing, there can be delays of weeks and even months for some babies. If the baby responds to your call but does not smile, this is not a problem as you can use different stimulations to make your baby laugh. But if the baby does not even respond to you in any way, there can be some inability which needs to be rendered as fast as possible. In this case, the babies can be suffering from some visual or hearing disorder and there can also be the possibility of autism which is why, you need to take your baby to the pediatrician’s as soon as possible.
How to Make your Babies Laugh?
Sometimes, babies can delay their smiles and laughs if they are not very stimulated and this cannot be a problem when parents make some efforts to make their baby happy. So, let down your guard against goofiness and get your baby laughing with these methods.
1. Making faces
Babies love funny faces and when it comes from you, their parents, they become extra happy. You can stick your tongue out and make your eyes larger which can trigger a smile as well as a giggle from your bundle of joy. You may need to do it time and again as your baby’s demand, as already said, babies love funny faces.
2. Peek-a-boo!
Peek-a-boo can trigger the biggest smile in your babies out of their confusion and amusement. You can hide behind an object and time and again be seen by the baby (you can also use your funny face here), this can surely make your baby laugh out loud.
3. Tickles
At the age of 2-3 months, babies can already feel tickles. You can use this and tickles them at the trigger points such as armpits, stomach, feet and neck so that you can see your baby laughing with that contagious giggles. Note that tickles should be mild and should not be done for a long time as it can irritate babies.
4. Games
It has only been some months that your baby came to the world and the baby already likes games. The catching games with one person walking with the baby and another person acting like running after the baby can be such a fun game for your giggling baby. You may need to do this again and again for your baby as babies can be very demanding about it.
5. Strange sounds
Making strange sounds at your baby can surely make your baby chuckle. Mews and woof-woofs can always come handy when you want to make your baby laugh out loud to share your happiness.
6. Pets
Taking your baby near to your pets can be a rewarding situation as their silly acts and strange sounds can bring an amazing laughter in your baby. Even if they do not laugh, they will smile for sure.
7. Baby friends
Sometimes seeing the faces of other babies can also make your baby smile and laugh. So, play dates can be rewarding from this time on. Also, if your baby does not have any baby friends, take your cellphone out for baby pictures and videos which will make your baby laugh with guarantee.
8. Toys
None can forget toys when it comes to keeping babies laughing and happy. You can act out using soft toys and make your baby laugh at any instance. Toys can also be friends to your baby whenever they feel like playing.
9. Kisses
Sometimes, just the kisses that you shower on your baby can make your baby giggle and laugh out loud. You can kiss all over your baby and can find your baby giggling with adorable smile, what else can a parent want?
With these tricks, you can surely make your baby’s contagious laughs be your favorite time in the day. Have fun laughing with your baby and I’m sure you have found some of your own ways to make your baby laugh, which you need to share with us. Please comment below!