Observe whether the child: smiles reflexively (for exampe, while sleeping)
Three ways this behaviour shows up as a child grows. Each level includes everyday moments to watch for.
Your child is beginning to show brief reflexive smiles, but they may be rare, easy to miss, or seen only during sleep or drowsy moments.
What you might see
Your child smiles reflexively, for exampe, while sleeping, with a brief smile that appears without needing social play or parent prompting.
What you might see
Your child shows reflexive smiles in relaxed states such as sleep or drowsiness, and the smiles are easy for caregivers to notice across ordinary days.
What you might see
Small everyday moments where you can notice this behaviour without setting up anything special.
When your child is sleeping or just getting drowsy, notice whether a brief smile appears on its own.
Try to tell whether the smile happens without you talking, smiling, or playing with your child.
Over a few ordinary days, notice whether these brief sleep-time or drowsy smiles happen more than once.
The dataset source and any supporting developmental research.
Stenhaug, B., Ram, N., & Frank, M. C. (2021). The Stanford SHQ: A measure of early developmental milestones.
This item comes directly from the SHQ prompt asking whether the child smiles reflexively, for example while sleeping.
Sroufe, L. A., & Waters, E. (1976). The ontogenesis of smiling and laughter: A perspective on the organization of development in infancy. Psychological Review, 83(3), 173-189.
Classic infancy research distinguishes early reflexive smiling from later social smiling during interaction.