Smiling and making sounds is your baby getting sociable

Your baby has been listening to the voices of the people around them since before they were born, and they will have started to explore the sounds that they can make. They will also be learning about interacting with other people as they respond to you as you speak to, look and smile at them.  

Your baby will be beginning to explore ways to join in with interactions and will begin to smile and laugh when people smile at them or when the people around them laugh.  

Learning to communicate  

Learning to communicate involves more than simply knowing which words are used for which objects or actions. Your baby will need to explore making sounds and learn the meaning of words; they will also need to develop their skills to listen and respond to other people and their understanding of how to initiate and continue a conversation.  

Your baby is likely to laugh first in social situations, perhaps in response to you chatting or playing with them.^[1] When you respond to their laughter, they will begin to realise that laughing is a social activity and can be an important part of communication.  

Early conversations 

While your baby might only just be starting to make sounds, they will be beginning to respond to your interactions. These responses are the emergence of what are known as ‘proto-conversations’, which are interactions in which you and your baby take turns responding to each other with smiles, sounds and pauses.^[2]  

Links with other streams 

Understanding interactions is an important aspect of both social and emotional and language development. Your baby will learn about other people and themselves through their interactions and begin to understand how people start and continue conversations.  

Much of your baby’s learning in the next few years will happen in social situations – they will learn about the world through exploring objects, but also through interacting with you and with other people.  

Look and listen for your baby initiating conversations!

As their physical and social skills develop, your baby will interact with you in different ways, using eye contact and smiles not only in response to your smiles but to initiate interaction. Your baby will continue to explore the sounds that they can make and will respond to your interactions with sounds, and begin to take turns with sounds in their ‘conversations’ with you.  

References:

[1] Addyman, C (2020) The laughing baby: The extraordinary science behind what makes babies happy.  London: Unbound.  

[2] Owens, R.E  (2016) Language Development: An introduction (9th Ed.) London: Person.