Infancy Nonverbal Communication
Infancy Nonverbal Communication Blog
In Early Childhood Education, we normally focus on verbal communication. What people do not realize is that children, infants and toddlers speak with nonverbal cues. Infants use facial expressions. Body language, tones, etc. communicate.
According to Jean Piaget, “infants “think” by acting on the world with their eyes, ears, hands, and mouth…” (Berk, 2022, p.18) Children between birth to 2 years of age are in the sensorimotor stage. Children use their surroundings to explore I accordance to “…cognitive-developmental theory, children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore their world.” (Berk, 2022, p.18). Infants cry with a variety of tones, move around, and use their facial expressions to communicate. For example, when a child is hungry, they cry very loud. When an infant is happy, they smile or wiggle their body. Nonverbal Communication starts at the beginning of a child’s life. For infants “…request objects to and from others at around 9-to-12 month of age…” (Bakker et al., 2015, pg. 1).
Infants use non-verbal cues in everyday life. Whether it is crying because they are hungry or need a diaper change. Smile when they are happy, create sad or mad faces. Use their hands to try and grasp, wiggle or move around if uncomfortable. Parents/caregivers will need to see and read the patterns of their infants to get to know what the infant is trying to convey. “Nonverbal communication plays an important role in parent-child interactions…” (Grebelsky-Lichtman, 2019, pg. 1). Parents who use a calm, soft tone will see the infant be engaged and smile. If a parent uses a harsh and loud tone, then the child will be upset and start to cry.
Getting to know how the infant communicates with nonverbal cues is important for the child’s development. The child will make their wants and needs known with crying, body language, tones, facial expression, etc. At first find the patterns will be a bit difficult. The parent/caregiver will figure out the patterns from trail and error. Parents also should remember that infants will learn through sensorimotor. Infants will touch everything and put everything in their mouths. This is normal behavior and expected behavior for the child, in order to communicate.
If a child is in a day care or Early Head Start setting. The teachers/caregivers will also need to focus and pay attention to the child’s nonverbal cues. Teachers need to be patient, listen, and learn from the infant. Each child is communicates their wants and needs in their own way. No child is alike. The same as a parent, the teacher/caregiver will have a lot of trial and error to recognize the infant’s nonverbal cues.
Works Cited:
Bakker, M., Kaduk, K., Elsner, C., Juvrud, J., & Gredebäck, G. (2025, June 15). The neural basis of non-verbal communication-enhanced processing of perceived give-me gestures in 9-month-old girls. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00059/full
Berk, L. E. (2022). Infants and Children (9th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US).
https://ua-bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781071895139
Grebelsky-Lichtman, T. (2019, January). (pdf) patterns of nonverbal parental communication: A social and situational contexts approach. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319189267_Patterns_of_nonverbal_parental_communication_A_social_and_situational_contexts_approach