Inspiring Those First Baby Giggles

Once you hear your baby's first laugh, you won't be able to get enough! Here's how to keep the giggle train chugging.

Sometime between three and four months of age, she'll likely add her first chuckles and giggles to her repertoire of vowel-sound coos. What will inspire that first outburst?

It could be anything from the sight of your face, or an older sibling or cousin's goofy grin, to a favorite toy or a silly sound. While these early laughs and coos are delightful to watch, they're rewarding for baby too — she loves hearing her own voice, and seeing others' reactions. Plus, with each coo and goo she's learning and practicing how to move her mouth and tongue to produce different sound effects.

You can encourage these interactions by talking with your baby often.

 Provide a stream of commentary: "Here's a clean diaper so you'll feel nice and dry. All done! Now I'm snapping your shirt — one, two, three snaps! — and pulling up your cozy red pants. Should we read a book next? How about this one with the bears taking a walk?"

It may feel silly to chatter away to someone whose conversational skills are limited to a few vowel sounds and gurgles, but this is how she begins to learn language and laughter. And by pausing in your patter, you not only give her a chance to chime in and test own voice, you're also teaching her the social skills she'll need to be a polite preschooler and a gracious adult.