You’ve been overhearing many parents you know gushing with joy about seeing their baby smiling for the first time. Their babies are the same age as yours, but your baby hasn’t shown you even an inkling of their first gummy grin yet. An impatience washes over you and you find yourself starting to worry - is there something wrong with my baby? Are they not happy? Why are all the other babies smiling, and not mine?

You’re not alone in your impatience. Seeing your baby smile for the first time is likely to be one of the most joyous moments you will ever encounter. Smiling is one of the first milestones in your baby’s life and shows that they are developing properly, so it’s normal to feel concerned.

But fear not, your baby will start smiling soon. And if they are taking a little longer than everyone else's baby, it doesn’t mean anything is wrong.

So, let’s look at when to expect your baby’s first smile and what to do if your baby isn’t smiling within the first few months of their life.

At what age do babies start smiling?

You should expect to see your tiny tot grinning back at you by the time they are three months old. However, you are likely to see them trying to smile before that. Initially smiles only happen infrequently but over the next few weeks you will see more and more smiles.

It’s interesting to note that you may notice your newborn smiling as a response to an internal impulse. For example, when they have gas. As the Academy of American Pediatrics (AAP) points out, these very early smiles often happen during sleep for reasons that are not yet fully understood. These smiles are believed to be a response to your baby’s newborn reflexes or a signal that they are aroused in some way.

So the kind of smile we are referring to, which can take up to three months, is what's called a social smile.

So, when will I expect my baby’s first social smile?

Usually, between two to three months is when you will see your baby’s first social smile. Your baby will start to look you directly in the eyes and pay close attention to your face, responding to external stimuli such as light and sound. This is around the time you may catch a glimpse of your baby smiling.

By four months, your baby’s smile will become a lot more frequent and you’ll start to figure out exactly how to evoke a smile in your little one. For example, when you make a funny sound or pull a silly face, you can predict that your little one will respond with a big wide gummy grin (making up for all those sleepless nights and hours of crying you’ve endured prior to this moment!)

By the time they are six months, your baby will not only be smiling more often, but they will also start to belly laugh! They are more responsive to your emotions and you can enjoy playing games with them to get them smiling, such as peek-a-boo.

So let’s look at some ways you can encourage your baby to smile.

How can I encourage my baby to smile?

Smiling is part of your baby’s normal development so you don’t have to do anything special to coax a smile out of them.

However, if you are feeling concerned that your baby hasn’t smiled yet, there are a few ways you can encourage your baby to give you the gummy grin you’re after;

Play peek-a-boo
Read to your little one
Sing lullabies or make a silly face
Talk, sing, interact with your baby all the time - while feeding, dressing and during any other interactions.
Any time your baby reacts to a sound or stimuli, celebrate it; react with excitement and encouragement which will encourage them even more.
Mirror your baby. Every time they make a sound, make the same sound back. When they smile, smile back at them.

When will my baby smile?

On Unii’s Baby Development Journey, we share when your baby will smile.