Babies' Laughter: Music to My Ears

Babies’ laughter–there’s just nothing sweeter to hear! I would go so far as to say no one can resist breaking into a huge smile, if not joining right in with them!

LAUGHING is a way babies interact with family members. I recently read an article that shed light on just how much more information we can glean from babies’ laughter!

In the article Peek-a-Boo: A Window on Baby’s Brain laughter is shown to been an effective tool at pinpointing stages in the way a baby’s minds is growing and developing. Researcher Dr Addyman, notes:
“You can’t laugh at something until you get the joke, so what they laugh at really tells us about their understanding of the world.”
The article provided a chart on the development of laughter:

1-3 months – Babies smile for the first time
2-4 months – Social smiles develop, which actively engage the parents and are used to elicit a response
3-6 months – Babies begin to laugh
4-6 months – Babies laugh when tickled
6-8 months – Object permanence develops, which could explain why games like peek-a-boo suddenly become funny

I was out taking care of my youngest grandson for a couple weeks. He is an (adorable) 3 months old. They also have another (4-legged) family member named Max. I witnessed the look of surprise on my grandson’s face when Max walked over and planted a sloppy dog kiss onto his face. In another few weeks to couple months, he’ll recognize how silly it is for a dog to lick his face a get a good belly laugh out of it.

My older-by-4 months-grandbaby has made it into the tickling phase…Video Feb 01, 4 51 43 PM
It just melts my heart!

LAUGHING with PLAY
PLAY is the natural way young children learn and peek-a-boo is a fantastic game to play even with babies! Playing peek-a-boo when babies are in the first six months of their life elicits genuine surprise when Mom or Dad return. As they enter the last half of their 1st year they learn to anticipate Mom or Dad’s reappearance and are thrilled when their predictions come true. By the time they’re toddlers, peek-a-boo has become a game of enjoyment and fun for both parent and child!

BEYOND PEEK-A-BOO
Aside from the fun of peek-a-book, the game’s genius culminates with separation anxiety support and object permanence. This support is both physical and emotional. Just as a parent disappears and then reappears in the game of peek-a-boo, mommy or daddy can now literally disappear, but their toddler knows they still exist and will return. The toddler is able to create an image in their mind’s eye, and with it all their memories, of them and their parent. This brings a feeling of security and tranquility that, though their parent may not physically be there at the moment, they will return.

PLAY

Are you surprised to learn about all the benefits of peek-a-boo? Want to hear more babies’ laughter too? Start playing peek-a-boo!

To play Peek-a-boo:
•Traditionally, with hands over parents face
•Place a blanket or towel over baby’s head and then take/pull off
•Place a blanket or towel over parent’s head and then take/pull off
•Peek-a-boo variation: (Partially) place a toy under a blanket or towel. Have baby look for the toy. Celebrate their sleuthing skills when they discover it and reinforce language exposure by saying, “Here it is! It was under the blanket!”
•Peek-a-boo variation: Add a 2nd blanket or towel; after baby has found toy under 1st blanket/towel, move it to the 2nd one and have baby look for toy. Celebrate once it’s found! Note: Babies may still look under the 1st blanket/towel even if they watched you move it. It’s developmental; it’s call the ‘A not B error’, where they look the last place they found it.

Yours in Play!
Teacher Karen

Babies’ Laughter: Music to My Ears

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