Capable of Showing Contentment and Joy (0-3 Months)
At birth, infants begin to show basic emotional behaviors. To demonstrate this, researchers carefully studied infants’ facial expressions as they interacted with their mothers. These studies have found that infants begin to display the basic emotional expressions of contentment, interest, and distress in their first days of life. Before they’re 3 months old, babies are […]
Can Display the Emotions of Distress and Sadness (0-3 Months)
When they feel “distress” or are uncomfortable or in need, even newborn babies have ways of letting their caregivers know, ranging from subtle expressions and movements to all-out cries. “Sadness” differs from distress and emerges in infants at around 3 months. Sadness is usually first observed when an infant has a pleasant experience and the […]
Able to Cry in Response to Another’s Cry (0-3 Months)
Babies treat the sounds of crying differently from other sounds. In one study with 34-hour-old infants, infants cried often when hearing the sound of another newborn’s cry. When these infants were in a quiet room or heard a cry-like sound (just as loud) made on a synthesizer, they cried less often. Some researchers believe this […]
Goodnight, Baby (0-14 Months)
Will your baby ever sleep through the night? The answer is yes! Some nights you need to get up and soothe a crying baby three, four, or what seems like ten times. You’re not used to waking up this often, and you’re exhausted. It doesn’t seem like you will ever have a complete night of […]
Responding to Baby (0-12 Months)
What is your baby thinking? Well, the answer is – A LOT! That’s right, from the minute your baby is born, he is taking in information from everyone and everything around him. His brain is like a supercomputer taking in every sound and every image. At 10 days old, babies can recognize their mom’s and […]
Book of Jenny: How Babies Communicate
Babies try to tell us what they want or need before they can talk. Part of the fun of parenting is learning how your baby communicates. No two babies are alike, and different babies use different expressions and movements to tell parents what they want. Attachments: It’s a Stressful Life References: Gianino, A., & Tronick, […]
Social and Emotional: Overview (0-6 Months)
Do babies have feelings? Do they have the ability to understand the feelings of others? The surprising answer from the research community is yes. Babies are born with the ability to experience a wide range of emotions, which develop in predictable ways as the years go by.
