Why And When Babies Start Laughing will look to answer a common question that most mothers and fathers have while listening to their babies’ early cries. When babies start laughing, there are several reasons why they do this. Normally, babies begin to laugh whenever something triggers them to do so. It can be as simple as seeing something that amuses them or feeling a sensation that tickles their senses. However, like adults, no two babies are the same. Some may start laughing as young as a month old while others may take at least a few months longer. When babies learn to laugh, it’s an experience their parents often relish. Laughing babies usually indicate happy babies, which is key to their healthy development. This also applies to the parents as laughter in the home helps it thrive as a positive environment for everyone who lives there.
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The First Laugh
A baby’s first laugh may occur when their bellies are either kissed or feel a ticklish vibration. Sometimes, it’s merely a funny noise that grabs their attention and it triggers a bit of laughter. It could also be from the gentle bounce up and down motion and the baby responds with a giggle of amusement. Usually, these first laughs occur when the baby is between a month to four months old. However, it’s not unusual for babies to take a wee bit longer as it’s already been established no two people are exactly wired the same way.
Some folks (including babies) laugh at just about everything as they seem to be so easily amused. Then there are others who seem to refrain from laughter. Just because they don’t always laugh doesn’t mean they’re not amused. Sometimes, their sign of laughter may be a simple smile on their face or a glistening in their eyes.
The Best Medicine
It is often referenced that laughter is the best medicine. While this isn’t something that can be packaged into a bottle as a prescription, studies have revealed laughing comes with a multitude of health benefits. It helps reduce stress and it can increase a body’s immune system and personal tolerance levels. It’s also been established it can help a person’s breathing pattern as well. Laughter really is healthy for the mind, body, and soul. This applies to children of all ages as young as newborns to as old as senior citizens.
Among young adults, the struggle to keep the laughter alive is met with more responsibilities that include college graduation, bills, employment, and relationship issues. Parenthood can also be chalked up as a challenge for adults to maintain a healthy sense of humor.
As parents, the importance to establish and maintaining a happy home filled with laughter is key to their baby’s development. According to Dorothy Law Nolte’s 1955 poem, children learn what they live. While Children Learn What They Live doesn’t exactly cover laughter specifically, it does talk about the benefits of growing up in a healthy environment. One helpful trick to a great home life with a happy baby that laughs often is to see the world through their eyes. Their first year is met with a series of new encounters and they will look upon them with wonderment. Try to do the same and use that to share the joy with your baby.
The key is to focus on the positives instead of dwelling on the negatives. Even if whatever you’ve personally encountered has been unpleasant, the effort to have a laugh about it can make a real difference. In fact, some of the best standup comics have used their own life experiences as a source to get their audience to laugh. Instead of letting something traumatic get to them, they learn to laugh it off and share the experience in the form of a funny story. This is not only therapeutic for the comedian but for the crowd as laughter is the primary reason why they came to see them.
Making Babies Laugh
When a parent’s baby laughs, it normally triggers an equivalent response. As far as parents and caregivers are concerned, a laughing baby is a happy baby. For them, getting caught up in the moment will also serve as an encouragement to keep the laughter going. Usually, babies love to hear popping and kissing sounds. They’re also fond of hearing squeaky voices and the sound your lips make when blown together.
These are noises that are more likely to trigger laughter from a baby than talking to them in a normal voice. A regular voice sounds too mundane while sillier voices have a better chance to get your baby’s attention. These are techniques often used by clowns who entertain children of all ages at amusement parks, circus shows, and parties.
What also makes babies laugh are light tickles. Even some adults can’t hold back when their skin is touched a certain way which causes the sensation to laugh. The gentle blow on a baby’s soft skin is also fun for them and they’re almost always guaranteed to laugh. During the first year of a baby’s life, they’re easily captivated by just about everything that crosses their path. Just the appearance of a random object most human beings wouldn’t give a second thought about may trigger a baby to laugh.
The presence of an animal or a stuffed toy may be enough to cause babies to start laughing as they take in what they just saw. Because babies are so easily stimulated by what they see, playing games like peek-a-boo is a great way to get them laughing. They love this. However, they don’t normally respond to this game until they’re about four to six months old. This is the age babies begin to learn about objects that exist without actually seeing them. The term for this is called “object permanence.”
As soon as babies start laughing, it’ll come across as a short and sweet giggle at first. Over time, the laughs will become louder as their lungs and muscles continue to develop. Sometimes, laughter will be a method of communication exercised by your baby until they learn how to speak actual words. Babies have also been known to giggle in their sleep from time to time. When they do, don’t be alarmed as this is normal. If you’re expecting belly laughs from them at such a young age, this isn’t likely to happen until they’re at least six months old. It may even take longer.
Every single baby reaches their own milestones according to their own body’s schedule. However, if you feel too much time has lapsed and you’re concerned about your baby’s development then paying a visit to your baby’s pediatrician wouldn’t hurt. Normally, babies learn to laugh by the time they’re six months old. If you’ve noticed your baby barely even cracks a smile by this age, then making an appointment with a pediatrician would be a good idea to make sure there isn’t a medical issue involved.
Whenever observing your baby’s laughter, take note of what amused them in the first place. This is their number one method of communication to let you know what they like. As soon as you learn what makes them laugh, stick with what keeps your baby happy. Laughter helps them develop their social skills as they’ll use this as a means to connect with their favorite people. The more they’re able to communicate and understand with those closest to them, the more content they’ll become as they get older. This will also help make your life at least a bit easier as a parent.
Sources:
https://childrenlearnwhattheylive.com/
Why And When Babies Start Laughing article published on BabyCareGuru.com© 2023
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