# When do babies start smiling? | Clever Mum > Real social smiles — in response to your face or voice — typically appear around 6 to 8 weeks. Earlier "smiles" are usually reflexes or wind, whatever * [ Home ](/) * › [ Mum Answers ](/answers) * › When do babies start smiling? Newborn & Baby # When do babies start smiling? Quick answer — When do babies start smiling? Real social smiles — in response to your face or voice — typically appear around 6 to 8 weeks. Earlier "smiles" are usually reflexes or wind, whatever grandparents claim. If there’s no social smiling by around 10–12 weeks, mention it at your health visitor review; it’s usually nothing, but worth noting. ## Reflex smiles vs the real thing Newborns smile from birth — in their sleep, mid-feed, after wind — but these are reflexes, not communication. The **social smile** is different: your baby sees your face or hears your voice, and smiles *at you*, often with their whole face and body joining in. It typically arrives between 6 and 8 weeks, conveniently timed with the 6–8 week health review. ## How to invite more of them Babies smile earliest and most at high-contrast, animated faces at close range — about 20–30cm, roughly feeding distance. Face-to-face time with exaggerated expressions, pauses for baby to respond, and imitating the sounds they make all build the back-and-forth that smiling grows from. ## If smiles are late Premature babies work to their due date, not their birth date — a baby born four weeks early may reasonably smile at 10–12 weeks. If there's no social smiling by around 10–12 weeks (corrected for prematurity), raise it with your health visitor. It's usually nothing, but it's one of the developmental markers they genuinely want to hear about. See our [month-by-month development guide](/baby/baby-development-month-by-month-first-year) for what comes next. ## More Newborn & Baby questions * [How often should I bathe a newborn?](/answers/how-often-bathe-newborn/) * [When can I take my newborn outside?](/answers/when-can-baby-go-outside/) * [How many nappies does a newborn use a day?](/answers/how-many-nappies-newborn/) * [How do I look after my newborn's umbilical cord stump?](/answers/how-to-care-for-umbilical-cord-stump/) * [My newborn looks jaundiced — when should I worry?](/answers/newborn-jaundice-when-to-worry/) [Browse every question we answer →](/answers/) Health answers describe NHS guidance and are not medical advice — for anything urgent, call 111 (or 999 in an emergency). Spotted something out of date? Email [editors@clevermum.co.uk](mailto:editors@clevermum.co.uk).