Baby non verbal communication: Non-verbal communication: babies – More than words

Non verbal communication between mother and baby

Newborns are designed to communicate and seek human contact. That way they are cared for and the love they receive has a direct influence on the type of adult they’ll eventually become. That’s why it’s so important for parents to be sensitive to the non verbal cues and signals their little one is giving them.

When you first bring your bundle of joy home from the hospital, it can be hard to interpret what your baby is trying to say. You’ll most likely feel very tired and quite overwhelmed and won’t have the energy to interpret facial expressions and subtle body language.

According to the organization Zero to Three “Babies communicate from birth, through sounds (crying, cooing, squealing), facial expressions (eye contact, smiling, grimacing) and gestures/body movements (moving legs in excitement or distress, and later, gestures like pointing”).

When your baby is about two years of age they’ll have a vocabulary of around 50 words. Although their babbling and chatter will make sense to you long before then, much of their early communication will be through their facial expressions and gestures.

Here are some tips to help you interpret your baby’s non verbals cues

Every baby is an individual and will communicate in their own unique way. Your baby’s age and stage of development will impact on how they communicate and you don’t have to get it right every time. What’s important is that you try to understand what your little one wants.

Sometimes your baby won’t know themselves what they want because they’re little and their brain is too. Until they learn to talk and develop skills in verbal communication, the best they have is their eyes, their body and their cries. Communication isn’t one sided and very soon after birth babies learn that “words, voice tone, facial expressions and gestures are all part of the messages other people give them.”

I’m still hungry!

Because I’m sucking strongly and swallowing the milk which is in my mouth. I have a look of concentration on my face and I’m calm and not crying or fussing. When you take your breast or the bottle away, I cry and complain, and I’m not distracted by what’s going on around me.

I’m full

I close my lips and pull away from the breast or bottle,I’m starting to fuss and cry, I’m not sucking and swallowing anymore and milk is pooling in my mouth. I starting to dribble milk and I’m distractible and not focused on sucking. I’m pushing the breast or bottle away from my mouth and I turn my head to the side and close my eyes and I may be looking a bit uncomfortable.

I’m tired

I’m becoming irritable and starting to cry. There is a change in the pitch and intensity of my cry and I’m no longer happy and content. I’m rubbing my eyes and I look a little pale. My eyes are red; I’m losing focus and I’m staring off into space. My face scrunches up and my hands clench into fists. I’m starting to fall asleep in your arms or where I am lying. I’m yawning and rubbing my face with my hands.

I want to play

My eyes are bright and open and I reach for a toy or your face.I wave my arms and legs around because I’m just so excited, I might even squeal and laugh with delight. I’m looking around for something exciting so I’ll try to move towards a toy or whatever is grabbing my attention.

I’m bored

Watch me as I close my eyes and break eye contact.I look away from your face for something more interesting to gaze at – don’t take this personally! I’m starting to cry and fuss because I’m no longer interested in what I was doing before.

I want to be held and carried,and I might even yawn just to show you I really need entertaining.

I want comfort

I’m starting to cry and become upset, I really need to be fed, settled or get your help because I feel uncomfortable. I’m going to be looking for you and reach out to be picked up. I’m looking for eye contact so I’ll try to connect with your face. I’m likely to get upset when strangers come near me, so stay close.

I need you close if I feel frightened or unsure or if I’m in a strange or unfamiliar place. Be near to me if I’m hurt, scared or just feeling insecure. Or perhaps I just don’t need much of a reason at all to know you are close to me.

Your parental instinct

Sometimes you may have problems interpreting your baby’s messages and just have a sense that something isn’t quite right, not because of any particular change in the way they’re communicating but a general sense of unease in yourself. It’s always worthwhile for parents to follow their “gut instincts” and have their baby seen by a doctor.

References:

https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/302-how-to-support-your-child-s-communication-skills

http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=114&np=306&id=1877

http://www.suttontrust.com/researcharchive/baby-bonds

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Baby Talk: Nonverbal Infant Communication

It would be hard to imagine living in a world in which you couldn’t use language to communicate basic wants and desires to others. And yet, babies very much find themselves in that position prior to acquiring verbal skills.

Babies actively communicate. But they must use nonverbal cues to interact with caregivers. How these cues are read by caregivers is an integral part of the all-important attachment relationship and infant development.

Elisabeth Robson, a Family and Child Therapist who specializes in infant, child, and family treatments, implements “Baby Cues” into her work with parents. “Baby Cues: A Child’s First Language” is a child development program designed through NCAST (Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training) to help parents/caregivers respond and interact more sensitively with their babies. “Baby Cues” is based on research done by nursing professor, Dr. Kathryn Barnard, founder of the Center on Infant Mental Health and Development at the University of Washington.

Robson states that knowing how to read nonverbal cues is essential because “infants, toddlers, and even young children who are developing language, but still cannot express their feelings, needs, or wants the way we as adults can, use nonverbal communication to be understood. ” Because infants do not have verbal skills, nonverbal cues are all they have to communicate during that early period of their development.

According to Barnard, there are two types of nonverbal cues used by infants and toddlers: engagement and disengagement cues. When a child expresses herself using engagement cues, a parent may find it a good time for talking, teaching, playing, or feeding the child. In other words, the child is willing to interact with the parent. However, when displaying disengagement cues, the child usually tries to communicate a need for a break in whatever they are doing (whether it’s eating, playing, or listening).

Each type of cue may be expressed in either a subtle or potent manner. Potent engagement cues include smiling, babbling, and reaching toward caregiver. Subtle engagement cues are more difficult to notice and may include brow raising, eyes wide and bright, facial brightening, and open hands.

Disengagement cues, which are also expressed subtly and potently, occur more frequently. While potent disengagement cues are quite clear and include crawling away, crying, or falling asleep, subtle disengagement cues may provide a greater challenge for caregivers. They are often difficult to detect and include things such as fast breathing, hand behind head, hand to ear, leg kicking, and lip compression. Robson explains, “some of the cues are more subtle and may seem arbitrary and that’s why parents sometimes miss them.”

In considering the relationship between the cues and parent-child interaction, Robson suggests that “noticing baby cues is very important for attachment.” It contributes to an environment in which the child feels safe and secure, and also to the development of a realization that they’re being taken care of and being understood. We see that constant failures to read the infants’ cues have direct impact on attachment.

Robson adds that “we all need to disengage from things, and the idea of disengagement is not that they are having a bad experience with what they’re doing, it just means that they need a change or want to do something different. ” According to Barnard, since infants can only take in a certain amount of information before needing a break from the interaction, caregivers who allow the infant to pause and then wait until the infant is ready to become engaged again, have longer and more attuned interactions with the infant.

So, what happens to the relationship between parent and child if the parent cannot read disengagement cues? Robson states that when parents repeatedly miss their children’s cues, this may lead to “distress” or “the child may learn that the parent can’t read their cues and they need to try a different strategy. In extreme cases, the child may even give up and stop trying.”

However, Robson notes reassuringly, “kids are very resilient and will try for a very long time to have their needs identified. If it’s a subtle disengagement cue the parent is missing, the child is going to move on to a more potent cue that, hopefully, the parent will pick up on.”

A common reason why parents may miss their infant’s cues is attributed to parental trauma. Robson suggests that a parent who experienced trauma is constantly on the lookout for danger, so their efforts are directed at keeping them and their children safe. That sometimes may get in the way of seeing what’s in front of them, so they miss subtle things with their baby because they’re constantly looking at their environment.

In a study by professors Karen Appleyard (Duke University) and Joy Osofsky (Louisiana State), following trauma, parents may often become overwhelmed by anxiety and experience symptoms of depression. These two factors may greatly affect their parenting and the connection they form with their children.

Robson believes that an emphasis on nonverbal communication should be an integral part of the therapeutic intervention offered to struggling parents. It is helpful when parents become aware of the positive things that they do and how well they are able read their babies’ cues once they do notice. Robson adds that helping parents develop insight as to what their child might be thinking and feeling, so that they begin to think of their child as a separate person who needs things from them, has provided encouraging results.

Overall, we can remain optimistic about parents’ ability to improve the interaction with their children even when they previously haven’t had that much success in reading non-verbal cues. Since relationships are not static, such difficulties are repairable, especially with young children. Robson states that “if a parent becomes more attuned to what the child needs, it has a positive effect on the relationship, and when that becomes consistent over time, there is a positive effect on attachment.”

—Contributing Writer: Noam Bin-Noon, The Trauma & Mental Health Report

—Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma & Mental Health Report

Copyright Robert T. Muller

Non-verbal communication in children | Mothers today

Communication is necessary for the proper emotional and social development of people. Some of this communication is done through verbal language, and another important part is through non-verbal language. Today we will talk about non-verbal communication in children and how it develops.

Non-verbal communication gives us much more information than simple words. Tone, intonation, intensity, gestures … give additional content to words, providing more emotional information about a person. nine0003

Index

• 1 Communication in children
• 2 How do children develop non-verbal communication?
• 3 How We Can Work With It

Communication with Children

Nonverbal Communication This is the first thing children learn and the one they use to communicate with their parents, and verbal communication is acquired gradually as they master the language. As in the early years of not talking, non-verbal communication in children is very important to be able to interact with the environment. nine0006

Babies begin to communicate through facial expressions . To see the different emotional states of your child, just watch him and see the different expressions of his eyes, face and lips. This is an innate ability that will develop over time. This is the best way to improve communication between the child and you if you do not have words to convey information. nine0005 Their facial expressions will give you a lot of information.

Non-verbal communication helps children develop language, thinking, empathy, assertiveness and better interaction with others. Let’s see how we can work with non-verbal communication with our children.

How can we work with this

• Maintain eye contact when talking to him. As we have seen, it is very important to look at their faces in infancy, but also during adulthood. His gestures, body postures, tone of his voice… will give you much more information than what his words say. Same we tell you that we are interested in what you want to tell us and that we are giving it our full attention. Feelings allow us to stimulate the child and interact with him, to establish communication between parents and children, something very important.
• Reach their peak . If you talk to them from above, you won’t connect in the same way as if you did from their level. If he is sitting, sit in front of him, and if he is on the floor, if necessary, also jump. If confronted, they will feel understood. nine0016
• Interact with your child . React to their gestures and facial expressions to improve your communication. Especially when he is very small and makes only sounds and gestures.
• Respond appropriately to their emotions. If you can see from his expression that he is angry, also do not show anger. The child needs to understand a very strong emotion that he does not understand. Actively listen to their verbal and non-verbal communication so that you understand their emotions and that they are real. nine0016
• Pay attention to non-verbal communication. In addition to studying children’s non-verbal communication, we must also look at our own. Sending conflicting messages between what we say and what we project will create confusion for them. Choose your words, tone, and body language well.
• Games. Play with him interpret the emotions of in the faces of other people, characters in stories or in photographs of other people. You can also play the same phrase with different intonations to see the difference between them. AT theater is also a way to play and learn social skills where you can practice different moods and guess what they are.

Because remember… non-verbal language not only helps their emotional and mental development, but also our communication with them.

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90,000 Tips for Parents – Child Development

According to research, body language accounts for 93% of the information sent. Who would have thought that our facial expressions and pantomimes could speak so loudly?..

Giving children all sorts of instructions, not many parents think about non-verbal ways of communicating with them. And non-verbal communication has a long-term impact on how children listen, behave, absorb information and talk to other people. It also influences how they treat us as parents and how children look in the eyes of other people. Non-verbal communication can have a major impact on how a child will like the people around him and on the opportunities that he will have in the future. Undoubtedly, this type of communication has a huge impact on the fate of children. nine0003

It is important for us as parents to remember that children often respond not to our words, but to the way they are presented. We need to carefully model the behavior we want to see in our children. Therefore, we must improve our own non-verbal communication skills so that they can effectively learn from us and improve their social skills. Fortunately, there are many ways to positively impact our children’s comprehension and communication skills. The following are helpful tips for parents. nine0003

1. The importance of eye contact

Parents often ignore the importance of eye contact with their children. And in vain, since good eye contact between parents and the child is an important tool for the normal development of the baby. When the child closely follows the expression on the parents’ faces, he receives clues to understand their verbal utterances. At the same time, it is important for the child to focus his attention not only on the face, but also on the movement of the lips. This makes our statement more “readable” and perceptible. nine0003

2. Talking at a child’s level

When you lean in and talk to your child at eye level, you are not only friendlier and less frightening, but also make what you say easier and more audible. Educators are often encouraged to teach on the same horizontal plane as children in order to build and strengthen bonds with students.

3. Using an open posture for communication

arms around the shoulders, we demonstrate to children that we are ready to accept what they have to say. This hand position makes children want to communicate with us and listen to us. nine0003

4. Positive facial expression

A smile, the corners of the lips turned up, as well as eyes that express interest and wide open with excited anticipation, influence children’s reactions to our statements. A positive expression on the face of parents encourages them to respond positively. Here it is important to take into account that the emotional experiences of children when communicating with other people shape their reactions throughout their lives.

5. Mutual, joint attention

The joint attention of parents and children to an object (for example, when the parent gets down on the floor with the child to clean up the dirt, instead of ordering the child to clean up the mess himself) is extremely important in attracting the child’s interest in a pressing topic. When we consider and evaluate a topic of conversation with our children, we engage them on a deeper level.

A study was conducted on the development of a child’s vocabulary and joint attention. The results indicate that children who learned words by completing tasks with their parents had a larger vocabulary. If the child does not pay attention to you and your words, approach him or even point out the problem to him. It is to be hoped that next time he will do as you have instructed him. nine0003

6. Tone of voice and intonation (paralanguage) when talking to children

It’s no secret that babies and young children love their mother’s language (mother’s high tone of voice). There was a study that found that maternal language helps babies determine where words begin and where they end, and thus recognize sounds, syllables, words, and finally sentences. Children also become more involved in conversations with their parents when they use a high-pitched and varying rhythm of speech. nine0003

7. Gestures

Head nodding, thumbs up and arms raised in excitement also have a positive effect on interaction with children. This is how we non-verbally express understanding and support to them.

8. Sounds (uh-huh, mmm, ah)

Parents’ use of vocal responses (not verbal) when talking to a child demonstrates to him that we are interested in what he is saying. These sounds encourage the child, as we show that we are listening very carefully. nine0003

9. Closeness between parent and child

When children are small, it is very important that the space (distance) between them and parents is relatively small (30–60 cm). As children become teenagers, this space naturally expands and requires more parental attention.

10. Movement (movements that parents should/should not make)

In order to show our child our interest in talking to him, our movements should be limited to gestures and facial expressions. Parental walking not only distracts the child, but also disrupts the closeness and bonding with the baby that is essential for effective communication. nine0003

It’s amazing how attention to non-verbal communication and a few small adjustments to it can have such a profound effect on our connection with children and how they will interact with the world around them. Use the tips presented in this article, and you will be pleasantly surprised.

Two Minute Action Plan for Parents

Take a moment to reflect on your last conversation with your child.