Babies seem to be prewired to interact and communicate with others. From a very young age, babies will show interest in those around them and caregivers can encourage this interaction by understanding that these interactions for babies are a way they communicate. When does baby start interacting and what can you learn about what your baby is trying to communicate? Read on to know these.
When Do Babies Start Interacting?
From birth, babies will begin to respond to others. During the first year of her life, her socialization may be limited to just the interactions between parents. During these years, your baby will be focused mostly on learning how to do things for him/herself like reaching for things, grasping objects and walking.
Before your child can talk or babble, she will learn vital social skills from you that will encourage them to talk more. Whenever you read or talk to your baby, you will be teaching her the skills to effectively communicate with others.
As your baby near the age of two, your baby will benefit from playing and interacting with other children of her age. Interacting with others of her own age will allow her to develop even more social skills like sharing, being kind, and allow her to make friends as she gets older. The following table will show you clearly the development of socialization of your babies.
|
Time |
Development |
|
1 month |
Your baby will begin making faces in the first month. They will watch you intently and mimic your expressions like smiling back at you or sticking their tongue out when you do. Your baby will be a good listener at this time as they are learning to make the same sounds as you and recognize your voice. It is important to make eye contact with your baby during this first month as you interact with them |
|
3 months |
You baby is watching you and those around him/her more intently. When do babies start interacting? It can happen before month 3, but it is during this time that your baby will begin to make more noises. They will interact with you by smiling and gurgling in response to you. |
|
4 months |
At 4months, your baby may show interest in interacting with others, but will mainly show mom and dad the most interest. Babbling may begin around this time, which you will want to encourage by continuously talking to your baby. Even when doing simple chores or task, talking to your baby more and more will increase their desire to interact with you. |
|
7 months |
Children at this age are more interested in playing with themselves than with other children because they are more focused on perfecting their fine motor skills. When your child begins to be more mobile, he/she may show more interest in other children but this may be limited to brief encounters. |
|
12 months |
Around this age, many children exhibit signs of separation anxiety which can come off as being antisocial. They may cry more for mom and dad and will prefer your company over others. |
|
13-23 months |
During this age your child is becoming more independent as he/she learns to communicate more with words. Tantrums and saying “no” can be common for children between the ages of 1 and 2. While your child may be more interesting in playing with other children, he/she will be highly protective of his own things. He/she will be more interested in how the world relates to him or her. |
|
24-36 months |
The 2 to 3 year age range is a time when many children are self-centered. It will be hard for children of this age to put themselves in other people's shoes and they can find it hard to understand that not everyone around them feels the same as they do. With proper guidance, children of this age learn to share, take turns and become more empathetic. They even begin to make closer friends at this time. |
What Can You Do for the Development?
1. The internal states of your baby
When do babies start interacting begins as soon as they are born but knowing the appropriate time to encourage interactions is important for parents. Once a baby reaches the 3-month mark, they can stay focused or attentive for longer periods of time, but overstimulation can hinder their ability to remain interactive in situations. Learning the internal state of your baby that will allow you to encourage your child to stay interactive will ultimately strengthen their social skills.
2. The foundation of interactions through behaviors
The behavior of the caregiver or parents is what will set the foundation for interaction with a baby. Through preparatory activities, state setting activities, baby-like actions, and communication framework maintenance, parents teach their children how to interact with other in a variety of ways. From encouraging continuous interaction, learning communication sequences to adjusting to surroundings while interacting, the way adults begin to interact with the baby will teach the baby how to interact with others as well as their environment.
3. Child-directed speech
More commonly known as 'baby talk', this type of speech towards babies can obtain their attention for longer. Through baby talk, the adult emphasizes or exaggerates sounds and changes the pitch or tone of their voice when speaking to the baby. Most babies who are exposed to this form of speech are able to more easily match objects and words together.
4. Interaction patterns.
At first, babies will respond and interact with everything in the same way, but as soon as one month of age, babies will begin to interact in sequences. Just as they will later go back and forth using words to speak with others at an early age, they learn this pattern of communication through expressions, vocalization, and gazes. When do babies start interacting may begin at one month, but by 13 weeks they have already learned different interaction patterns that will either maintain their attention or cause them to look elsewhere.
If a baby does not get a response out of the adults around them, they will quickly shift their focus in the opposite directions. Similarly, if there is too much going on around them, they will shift their attention in another direction as well.