The Sweetest Milestone: When Do Babies Typically Start Smiling?

There's nothing quite like a baby’s smile to brighten your day, a heartwarming milestone that makes those sleepless nights and long days seem worthwhile. Smiling is a sign of your baby's growing social skills, marking the transition from a sleepy newborn to a sociable little person. But when can you expect to see that gummy grin?

Understanding the First Smiles

Every baby is unique, but most babies start smiling around six to eight weeks old. However, you might notice a reflex smile or smirk soon after your baby is born. The first smile really depends on your baby’s temperament and how they adjust to their new world, so don’t panic too much if your baby isn’t smiling yet. If they’re responding to you and meeting other developmental milestones for their age, it’s likely nothing to worry about.

Reflex Smile vs. Social Smile

Newborns exhibit reflex smiles as soon as they're born, but true social smiles don't typically start until 8 weeks.

You might notice your baby smiling in their sleep, when they’re tired, when something touches their face or, when they have gas. These are known as reflex smiles or reflexive smiles. A reflex smile is typically short and fleeting, and will occur randomly with no obvious reason.

A reflex smile is different from a social smile. A social smile is different: It signals that your baby is trying to engage with you and imitate your facial expressions. This level of social connection takes time to develop, which is why it takes a while before your baby is able to smile at you.

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A real smile will usually happen in response to some kind of stimuli, like your face, your voice, or a toy that makes a noise. A reflex smile will typically only involve the mouth, while their whole face will light up with a real smile. The biggest difference? Baby’s whole face lights up when it’s a real smile. Believe us, you’ll be able to tell!

The Timeline of Smiling and Social Development

Here's a timeline of how babies learn how to smile and engage in social communication:

Newborn: Babies respond to other people and use crying as a way to communicate wants and needs. But if you try to gaze into your newborn's eyes, it might seem as though they aren't really seeing you. And chances are, you likely appear a little fuzzy to them. Newborns generally have poor eyesight and aren't able to focus beyond 6 to 10 inches in front of them.
1 to 2 months: As your baby grows, their eyesight will improve and they can focus their eyes on you and follow your face. At this age, your baby also has more control over their movements - so they're better able to mimic your facial expressions, from sticking your tongue out to raising your eyebrows.
2 to 3 months: Most babies will smile by about 8 weeks old, but smiling may not become a regular occurrence until your baby's closer to 10 to 12 weeks.
3 months: At 3 months, babies are becoming more socially active and looking for opportunities to engage with you. They may try to grab your attention by "smile talking" or wait until you make the first move by smiling and talking to them before beaming a wide grin back at you in response.
3 to 4 months: Your baby will gradually start holding your gaze for longer periods of time and you may also notice they reserve their best smiles for you. Babies at this age begin showing preferences for familiar people, and your little one may take a few minutes (or longer) to warm up to someone new.
5 to 6 months: By 6 months old, most babies will smile readily, babble, and laugh. They may delight in games of peek-a-boo as they begin to learn they're separate from you. You'll also see glimpses of your baby's personality emerge as they begin to get more assertive and curious about the world around them.

Encouraging Your Baby to Smile

The more you smile, speak, laugh, and communicate with your bundle of joy, the better. Our children really do mimic our every move.

To help your baby along, smile at her, cuddle her, play with her and talk to her often. You can't spoil a newborn, and numerous studies have shown that babies who receive lots of parental care and affection early on develop faster, have larger brains and are more sociable. So if you can't wait to see those first real smiles, snuggle away, and smile at her like she's the best thing since sliced bread (which, really, she is).

Give them plenty of love and affection. Baby will respond to cuddles, kisses, and a sweet, high-pitched voice.
Play with them. Games like peek-a-boo will surprise and delight Baby, plus they’re great for brain development.
Put on a happy face. Babies imitate the people around them, so start smiling like you’ve never smiled before!

What Comes After Smiling?

Beyond the cuteness explosion you can expect when Baby starts smiling around 6 to 8 weeks, it’s also an exciting time for their development. Baby’s vision and facial recognition is improving, and they’re outgrowing their early reflexes. They’re also beginning to express feelings, such as excitement or contentment.

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Once Baby has smiling down, they’ll start cooing (making speech sounds similar to vowels). After cooing comes babbling, then giggling. Eventually, Baby will launch into full on laughing fits!

After your baby starts smiling, it won't be long before you see their social and emotional development grow by leaps and bounds. Here's what to expect:

By 3 months old, your baby will attempt to smile talk with you and initiate their version of a conversation.
By 4 to 6 months old, most babies will enthusiastically smile, laugh, squeal in delight, and start to babble.
At around 7 months old, your baby may respond to their name.
By 9 months old, your baby may be able to clap.
By 10 months old, your baby's short-term memory has improved so much that they can remember a few things at once, but still only for short periods of time.
At 1 year old, your baby will have likely mastered waving hello and goodbye and saying "mama" and "dada."

What if Your Baby Isn't Smiling Yet?

Just as some adults are quicker to smile than others, some babies are too. If your 1-month-old still isn't smiling, don't be alarmed. That first "real" smile can seem frustratingly elusive, because for even some of the happiest babies, it can happen any time between 4 weeks and 4 months of age.

If your baby isn’t smiling yet……there’s probably no need to worry. It could just be their personality-every baby is different!

As with all things in child development, there's a range of normal when it comes to when babies smile. But if your baby doesn't show a social smile by around 2 months old, talk to your child's healthcare provider. This could be an early sign of a developmental delay that may need attention. "The social smile sets the foundation for later social and emotional skills," says Kelly Yost Abrams, Ph.D., a developmental psychologist and member of the BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board. "The sooner any possible delay is identified, the better chance a child has to reach their full potential."

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If your baby isn’t yet smiling or laughing (or if they do it infrequently enough to concern you), pay attention to their other behavior as well. Talk to your child’s pediatrician if your baby is:

Not responding to your voice
Not engaging with toys
Not showing interest in exploring their environment

“If you notice a difference, seek support right away,” Dr. Kaari urges.

Smiling and Autism

You may have heard that a delay in smiling is considered an early indicator for autism spectrum disorder. And while this is true, a delay in smiling is very rarely the only symptom that a child on the autism spectrum will exhibit. If your child hasn't smiled by 4 months but vocalizes, makes eye contact and responds to verbal and visual cues from you, she just might not be a naturally smiley personality - at least, not at this early stage in her development. Of course, you can always discuss any concerns you may have with your pediatrician.

A common misconception about autism is that babies with autism don’t smile. They do - but their smiles may appear less frequently, come at unexpected moments, or not seem directly tied to social interaction. This difference is often related to how children with autism process social cues. A lack of social smiling (meaning your baby doesn’t smile back at you or engage with your attempts to connect) can be one of the first signs of autism in babies. But it’s important to remember that this doesn’t mean your baby isn’t happy or content. Noticing when a baby smiles (and how they do it) is just one piece of a much larger developmental picture. That’s why early observation and intervention are so crucial.

The Importance of Early Intervention

As a parent or caregiver, you’re in the best position to recognize these early cues. You have a front-row seat to their day-to-day life and have unique insight into their daily behaviors and interactions. Early diagnosis and intervention allow professionals to begin working with children with autism during a critical window of brain development. Therapists often emphasize that the earlier support begins, the more effective it can be.

Research clearly shows that early intervention is critical for improved outcomes in skills development. Neuroplasticity is higher in young children, which means that their brains can more easily change and adapt to their experiences. Intervention at an early age offers a better chance for a child with autism brain development to be positively influenced by therapy.

Other Developmental Milestones

There are several developmental milestones in a child’s early years. Some children with autism are non-verbal communicators and won’t develop the same verbal communication in infancy as allistic infants. A baby will start to gurgle and make noises early on and could start to say words like “mama” from six to 12 months.

By six months old, infants should have a broad range of movements. They should be reaching for things, leading, or pointing. Grip strength and finger and wrist movements are fine motor skills, while larger body movements like walking, running, and balance are gross motor skills. Crawling is a hugely significant milestone as it requires coordination and balance.

The milestones above will start to develop between six months and one year old, but it’s also important to keep in mind that all children develop at different rates.

More Signs to Watch For

Babies with autism smile but may not smile as much as babies without autism. Typically, a baby will smile back at you as early as six weeks, but certainly by four months.

Babies like to make eye contact from a very young age. This allows them to mimic their parents or caregivers, and it’s interesting for them. Most babies will respond to their name by nine months, while they should respond to attempts to engage them much earlier on.

Babies without autism can usually anticipate social interactions. For example, they might lift their arms in anticipation of being lifted out of their cribs or laugh or cry in response to peek-a-boo.

Eye tracking is another vital marker. Babies are highly social beings, and they will babble to themselves and you while learning to talk.

Children with autism tend to develop fixations on particular subjects or textures when they are older. Babies might develop fixations on unusual objects like fans or certain parts of a toy.

Children with autism tend to have sensory issues that can become more apparent as they grow up, but even babies can display sensory sensitivities that might be a sign of neurodivergence. This usually includes signs of distress like hand waving, covering their ears, and more. On the other hand, a baby with autism could have hyposensitivity in some areas, which means that they are under-responsive to certain stimuli.

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