IndexExpression through smilingExpression through cryingFunctions of smiling and crying for babiesConclusionWorks CitedMany times we often hear that becoming a parent changes everything. You need to understand that having a baby isn't just about welcoming a new member into a family or having to juggle your work life and social life. Time spent with the child is a form of new responsibilities. One must master or at least try to understand the concept of the child and the growth of early childhood mental health, sociological development and, above all, emotional expressions. “Child mental health” refers to how a child develops socially and emotionally from birth to age three. Understanding child mental health is key to preventing and treating mental health problems in very young children and their families. Beyond that, it also helps guide the development of healthy social and emotional behaviors. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay It is a well-known fact that every parent can't wait to hear their child's first word. Whether it is "mum" or "dad" is often at the center of this curiosity, not only on the part of the parents but it can be said with certainty that every single member of the family awaits this moment. These words will imitate the words and sounds they hear. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, by 9 months, babies acquire the ability to put different sounds together, and most will say their first word by 12 months. The big question that arises here is: before they can repeat their first word, how could they indicate how they feel? The first “baby talk” is non-verbal and occurs immediately after birth. A baby's grimaces, cries, and squirms express a range of emotions and physical needs, from fear and hunger to frustration and sensory overload. It is essential to constantly learn to listen to and interpret the baby's different cries and laughter. You will very quickly learn to distinguish between the various cries of the baby, for example the cry of hunger, the cry of tiredness or the cry of boredom. For the purpose of this assignment, a child will be chosen to critically analyze his/her socio-emotional development in different contexts and situations. we will discuss the circumstances and the expression through smiling and the expression through crying. Furthermore, a comprehensive elaboration of the functions of smiling for newborns and the functions of crying for newborns will be carried out. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn to summarize the results of this task. Expression through SmilingSmiles are a prototypical facial expression of joy, happiness, excitement and positive emotion. The smile is formed when the zygomaticus major muscle contracts and pulls the corners of the lips upwards laterally. In addition to communicating happiness, smiles inspire positive engagement in others. This dynamic process of expressing and perceiving positive emotions contributes to the emergence of social competence in the developing child. Even at this early stage, newborn smiles include the two most recognizable components of this expression: half-closed eyes, widened mouth, with raised corners. These same characteristics consistently appear in the smiles of older children, although later smiles are more intense and may include other components. Grandparents or family members may receive a hesitant smile initially, followed by cooing and body talk once they've spent some time with a baby. In contrast, strangers may only receive a curious glance or a fleeting smile. ThisSelective behavior indicates that even at this young age he is starting to figure out who is who in his life. Although the signs are subtle, there is no doubt that he is becoming very attached to the people closest to him. For the purposes of this assignment, the child I have chosen is Samuel. Samuele is 11 months old. He has brown eyes and is fine, short hair. He has almond-shaped eyes and a very pale complexion. He usually sits on the floor in his living room, sparsely furnished with two sets of comfortable black sofas, a drop-leaf table and a television. The living room is very spacious and comfortable and appears to have been furnished with his comfort and safety in mind as Samuel has a tendency to crawl. He especially enjoys crawling back and forth from the living room to the kitchen, which has also become his daily routine. There is always a subtle smile on his face that indicates his freedom to be able to crawl freely around the house. Samuel was sitting on the floor with his toys around him. I sat on the floor next to him and he starts handing me his collection of toy sets. His toys range from clapping hands, toy telephones, dolls and doll beds, prams and pushchairs, puppets, plush toys, plastic animals and "realistic" vehicles made of plastic and wood and he also has cardboard and wooden blocks (from 2 to 4 inches).He is interested in my reaction as he hands me his cards, one by one. Samuel usually leans forward, picks up a yellow card and gives it to me. He looks at my face and opens his mouth as he waits for my reaction. Each of these colorful blocks has its own respective alphabet. I will then proceed to tell him the letter and color on the block. He smiles knowingly, nods his head forward, extends his arm, and proceeds to pick up another block. After picking up four blocks and handing them to me, he crawls across the floor to a toy car and pushes it for a moment. He looks at me to see what I'm doing and pushes the toy car towards me. He smiles, and when I smile at him and say, "Is that your car?" He smiles again and nods his head. I also observed that Samuele gets particularly excited and raises his hands upwards every time he sees his mother. He has a wide smile on his face every time he sees his mother and eventually crawls faster to get to his mother. From my observation, the smile in the first situation, a subtle smile, is a smile that indicates that he is free and there are no restrictions regarding his movements throughout the house. This is a simple, closed-mouth smile that can also be classified as a smile. In the second situation where he responded to my smile, I think he feels good when I smile at him, and he seems to instinctively know that he can smile too. These movements are indicative of genuine signals of pleasure and friendliness. This smile is also known as the cheek lift/eye crinkling “Duchenne” smile. Third, his wide smile whenever he sees his mother is what I thought would be classified under bared-teeth play or eye-rolling/rolling Duplay play. This demonstrates a positive indicator of the child's growing socio-cognitive development. Expression through crying Babies are born with the ability to cry, which is how they communicate over a period of time. Babies cry generally to indicate that something is wrong, it is a form of non-verbal signaling. They may cry for various reasons, for example because they are hungry, their feet are cold, they are tired or they may even cry because they want to be held and cuddled, etc. It is of utmost importance to identify the type of cry, for example, "I'm hungry" may be short and low, while "I'm angry" may seem choppy. Within a few weeks you will be able torecognize what need the child is expressing and respond accordingly. Since Samuel is 12 months old, he consumes solid foods three times a day. Samuel eats a variety of different foods and takes an active role at mealtimes by feeding himself and drinking from a sippy cup. He usually drinks Enfragrow milk about (2-3 times a day), he usually takes honey flavored Nestum for breakfast around 7 am, he will eventually fall asleep for one or two hours and for lunch he will take pureed rice porridge with potatoes , anchovies and carrots. Potatoes improve baby's gastrointestinal health and protect the liver. They also heal and protect the skin. When added to anchovies and carrots, all the nutrients in the ingredients are really beneficial for children who are growing every day. Sometimes, by changing the menu, Samuel will also be given pasta. However his preference sometimes changes. One thing that is certain is that it is difficult to predict when he will be hungry. In similar situations, Samuel usually starts crying when he is hungry, I understand that this type of crying is usually rhythmic and can seem intense, Samuel will make a loud crying face with his mouth open and his cheek raised. Samuel usually enjoys playing with his toys, most of the time he loves playing with the seahorse doll and will play at least 2-3 hours accompanied by constant crawling and sometimes even tries to walk. Eventually he will get tired and start crying, in my observation this type of crying tends to be accompanied by eye rubbing, usually the crying will start slow and low and increase in intensity and tone. It is usually difficult to calm him down and put him to sleep. Samuel will make a moderate cry with his mouth open. Samuel is not very fond of strangers. He is usually afraid of strangers and Samuel is also very afraid of loud sounds, sometimes he is very busy in children's programs and sits still watching those programs, however there was one time when I unintentionally turned up the volume and he started to cry. He also doesn't seem to feel very comfortable when loud banging sounds are heard. Eventually he will start crying, and I think it's because of his fear. His cry tends to have a shrill sound and Samuel's face looks surprised. However, this type of cry is slightly weaker in the sense that he makes a moderate cry with his mouth closed. Functions of Smiling and Crying for Babies Previously, a discussion has been made to discuss the various expressions of laughing and crying. However, it should be noted that there are respective functions for each expression mentioned. In the early stages of the child, smiling becomes increasingly linked to auditory and visual stimulation during non-sleep states, which will slowly mark the step towards the emergence phase of social smiling. The Duchenne and Duplay smile generally functions to create and maintain positive social interactions with parents, family, and even their caregivers. In short, infant smiling involves referentially communicating enjoyment of objects and experiences to their social partners. Smiling begins to occur during coordinated joint attention in which the infant actively shifts attention between a toy and a social partner. When children begin to initiate joint attention by looking between a toy and an individual and begin to integrate a smile into a look towards a person. An example is anticipatory smiling, in which a child smiles at a toy and then turns to look at an adult, which may serve to communicate that the child wants to share a fun experience ("that's a fun toy") or simply wants indicates that he will be happier if there is someone to play with toys with him. On the other hand, childrenthey may also cry when they feel overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds of the world or for no clear reason. So, if your baby cries and you can't comfort him immediately, remember that crying is babies' way of rejecting stimuli when they're overloaded. Crying is the most dominant method and works to communicate their likes and dislikes to us, in fact they also use other more subtle forms. We must learn to recognize the different types of expression of infant crying as it is rewarding and can strengthen the bond with the baby. It is common for children to have a restless period at about the same time each day, generally between early evening and midnight for Samuel. Although all newborns cry and show some fussiness, when an otherwise healthy baby cries more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week for at least 3 weeks, it is a condition known as colic. This can be upsetting, but the good news is that it is short-lived and most babies outgrow it by 3 or 4 months of age. Conclusion Nonverbal messages add or take away from our words. In effect, we become the message, with our nonverbal cues announcing our mood, expectations, and sense of self. Our whole being chatters incessantly, revealing what we really feel and think. The same concept applies to infants and toddlers as they are not able to speak properly until a certain age. This unspoken exchange may seem like nothing more than play, but these early exchanges play an important role in his social and emotional development. It should be taken into consideration that by responding quickly and enthusiastically to his smiles and greetings often in these "conversations", it indicates his importance and shows your trust in him and, above all, you will be able to assure him that you understand his emotions through his expressions. By recognizing his signals and not interrupting him or looking away while he's "talking," you'll also show him that you're interested in him and that you appreciate him. This contributes to the development of his self-esteem. Throughout life, smiles are a well-recognized facial signature of positive emotions. The form and timing of smiles change rapidly early in life as children become more active participants in positive social exchanges and the regulation of their emotions. In early childhood, smiling becomes an essential characteristic for the development of play and peer relationships. Considering that crying is the newborn's only means of communication, it is important that you respond to him as soon as possible, this will help him understand that you are there for him. At these developmental ages, expressions can be particularly informative about the child's developmental status. At all ages, individual differences in expressive behavior can provide clues to a child's preferences and response style. Although many interesting and important questions remain about expressive development, it seems clear that facial expressions, particularly laughing and crying, provide important information to both caregivers and professionals. Expressions, especially when combined with vocal and postural behaviors, provide important clues about the motivational state of children who otherwise may not report what they feel. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Personalize EssayBefore concluding this assignment, I would also like to list some tips on how to handle children's inferences from their body language and expression of emotions. This method was also tested on Samuel and proved effective, firstly create and follow regular routines and offer