ABSTRACT
Human beings have a deep need to communicate with each other, and baby is learning how to join in. Parents and babies spend much time gazing at each other. Parents and babies begin to mirror each other’s expressions, often without even being aware of it. The most amazing communication between babies and their parents in the first weeks is the smile. Some researchers have suggested that at first what parents see is just a grimace that looks like a smile. Building on the turn-taking structure established through those early exchanges, word-like utterances begin to make interactions more recognisably conversation-like. Most parents and babies get special games going to accompany routine actions like nappy changing. Crying babies can usually be consoled better when their parents try to put the baby’s feeling into words.
