How to Get Your Baby to Smile

Sometime after the first month, you may notice that your baby has begun to give the occasional social smile. These are genuine smiles, as opposed to ones merely caused by gas. If you catch your baby at a good moment, you can even get him to chuckle out loud. If you'd like to get your little one to smile, try following these steps.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Give a smile to get a smile. Some babies will mimic you by smiling back. Smile brightly at your baby and he may give you a huge grin of his own.

2. Rattle off a raspberry. Some babies love when a parent sticks out her tongue and blows to make that familiar razzing sound. Test out a raspberry out on your baby and see if he smiles. Blowing with your lips together can also be an effective alternative.

3. Talk to your baby in a high-pitched, sing-song voice. Saying your baby's name and talking funny while making animated facial expressions may cause her to laugh.

4. Use a toy to talk to your baby. Move the toy around while talking to get your baby to laugh. Babies like repetition, so doing this over and over may convince him to give you a giggle. Squeaky toys or other toys that make noise may also make a baby smile.

5. Give your baby a mirror. Many babies will smile at their own reflection. An unbreakable plastic mirror works great for this activity.

6. Give your baby lots of loud kisses. Making kissing noises and kissing your baby rapidly from cheek to cheek may cause her to laugh.

Tips & Warnings

• Be animated and do silly things repeatedly to get your baby to smile.
• Never shake a baby to try to get him to laugh. Do not throw your baby up in the air and catch her. Both of these activities can cause serious injury and even death.