How babies communicate

By the age of 6 months, your baby is gaining more control of her body and can use various gestures and facial expressions to tell you how she's feeling.

‘Your baby's eyes and facial expressions are her first tool of communication,' says psychiatry lecturer Richard Smale of Bournemouth University.

Towards the end of your baby's first year she'll probably start waving and pointing at people and objects.

‘By pointing, your baby is connecting her own internal world with the world around her,' says Richard.

‘Through waving she's recognising she's separate from you and developing her own identity while at the same time keeping in touch.'

Your baby will discover other attention-grabbing behaviour too, such as repeatedly dropping her favourite teddy.

‘Babies are very clever manipulators,' says Richard. ‘They realise quite early on that if they pull strings something happens.'

DID YOU KNOW? Babies all around the world babble in an identical way.

Source: How Babies Think (Phoenix, £7.99)

 

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