Body language is like the unsung hero of communication. It’s beautiful. It gives a human the ability to talk to someone without even speaking. A simple gesture or sound can tell a thousand words. However, in some situations, you might not even know what gesture a person is trying to make towards you. For example, what are babies trying to tell you?
They do not talk. DUH! However, they can certainly communicate with humans, especially their parents. The moment a baby comes out of the womb, they immediately use their body and sounds to talk to other humans. Body language does not have to be taught to a baby; it is innate.
“WAHHHH WAHHH”
Why the hell are these babies making this sound? To annoy the living crap out of you or are they trying to tell you something? According to studies, when a baby cries, they are just trying to tell someone that they are hungry or that they just left a nice little goodie in their gift-basket (Infant 1). Another reason a baby would cry is if they are angry or in some kind of pain (Infant 1).
“GOO GOO GA GA!!!!!!”
Oh jeez, now what the hell are they trying to say? It is so cute, but why are they making these noises at you? Whenever a baby moans at you, they are trying to tell you that they are satisfied (Infant 1)! So if you hear a murmur from a baby, that is a good sign! That is their way of saying “Keep doing what you’re doing!”
As babies start to grow up a little, they start to use their hands as a way to communicate with others. They will point at certain objects to say “I want that!” or “Give that to me!” (Infant 1). Besides the hand gestures and sounds, babies also communicate by reflexes. There are so many different types of reflexes which helps parents understand what their baby is trying to say. According to various studies, when a baby is hungry they tend to grab onto their mother’s breast or nipple, which is known as the Sucking Reflex (Infant 1). Another reflex that babies tend to use is the Startle (Moro) Reflex, when babies spread out their arms and legs. A baby would support themselves like this to tell people that they are avoiding a fall (Infant 1). Another example is the Hand-to-Mouth Reflex, which is when babies start to suck on an object (Infant 1). This reflex is used to tell their mothers that they are hungry or that they want to get breast fed (Infant 1). How gross.
Babies are more than a cute little thing that you can play with, they are people as well. Even though they can not physically say words to us, they can still use body language to tell people what they want or how they are feeling. Babies are smarter than you think.
Actions speak louder than words.
Bye-Bye!
Work Cited
“Infant Reflexes.” BabycareAdvice.com Articles:. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 July 2014.
N.p., n.d. Web.
For your blog that you posted, are all of these answers that you corresponded to the babies face it would be very easy to say that these are all correlation responds because naturally we would believe that crying means sadness and laughter is happiness. Although I agree with everything you have posted, I would be curious to know more places where scientists studied EEGs or brain waves to see if the reaction we can physically see can also be more scientifically proven. Is it possible that babies have the capability to “put on a face”? Do you believe babies have the potential to have this sort of understanding that if they cry they get attention or if they are good they will receive good in return? At what age to you think this can physically have the brain waves to put two and two together?
In my opinion, the actually formation of the “g” sound and the “w” use a lot of muscle coordination to get the word out. So why exactly do babies choose to say a “goo goo gah” or “wahh” when they “speak”? Can this be changed by a parents interaction with their baby?
I’d be interested to know more about this and I think you provided a create interactive chart with your blog to explain reflexes. Good work!