Understanding an infant’s body language can reveal a lot about his physical and emotional state.
When you have a baby, you spend almost all your time with him, watching his every movement and trying to understand why he makes certain movements more often than others.
It is often difficult for new parents to unravel the secrets of a child’s body language and the ways in which he tries to express his feelings.
However, understanding a child’s body language can tell you a lot about their moods and feelings. Let’s look at some of the manifestations of a child’s body language and try to understand what they mean.
1. The child kicks with his legs
What does this mean? The child is happy and he likes what is happening around him. Children often kick when their parents bathe or play with them.
How to react: Take the child in your arms and sing a song to him. He will begin to move to the beat of the song, and he will like it even more.
2. The child arches his back
What does this mean?
Such movements are the child’s reaction to pain or discomfort. Often children arch their backs when they feel heartburn.
How to react: Help your baby relax. If he begins to arch his back while feeding, this may be a sign of reflux (the flow of food from the stomach back into the esophagus). Therefore, do not force-feed the child if he cries or dodges. First of all, calm him down and make him feel comfortable.
3. The child hits his head
What does this mean?
The child hits his head on the floor or against the sides of the crib when he feels irritation or pain. Rhythmic movements of the head back and forth calm him down.
How to react: If your child hits his head on the floor or sides of the crib for a long time, you should contact a pediatrician who will examine your baby and establish the reason for such actions. Don’t take this child’s behavior lightly.
4. The child touches his ears
What does this mean?
By touching his ears, a child expresses his joy at the discovery: it turns out he has ears! In addition, he may pull his ears when he is teething. Finally, if a child cries and touches his ears, he may have ear infections.
How to react: If you see that the child is just having fun, play with him: join him in his search. If he is teething, help him soothe the pain. If your child is suffering from an ear infection, contact your pediatrician.
5. The child clenches his fists
What does this mean?
Clenching fists is a common movement for babies. But clenched fists can also be a sign that he is hungry or stressed. When a child is hungry, he becomes tense and instinctively clenches his fists.
How to react: If the child is hungry, feed him. If he still has a habit of clenching his fists at the age of three months or older, it is worth consulting with a pediatrician.
6. The child bends the knees and raises them to the stomach
What does this mean?
When a child bends his knees, this may indicate that he is experiencing discomfort in the stomach or intestines. He may have constipation, gas or intestinal colic.
How to react: Help your child feel comfortable. If you are breastfeeding your baby, do not eat foods that can cause gas in your baby.
If the child suffers from constipation, contact your pediatrician – he will help you choose the most appropriate remedy to fix the problem. To relieve constipation in a child, you can give him enough water or a decoction of prunes.
7. The child makes sudden movements with his hands
What does this mean?
Sudden hand movements may be the child’s reaction to what is happening around him. It can also mean the child is wary. Typically, an infant makes jerky movements with its arms when it hears a sudden noise or feels a bright light.
He may also twitch his arms when he suddenly feels unsupported or when you put him down on the floor.
How to react: Jerky hand movements are a natural reflex reaction of a child, which usually subsides after four months. When you put your baby to sleep, swaddle him. This will provide the child with sufficient support and prevent jerky hand movements.