Newborns demonstrate universal behavior traits and reflexes that express their immediate needs and feelings. Parents who respond swiftly and lovingly toward their baby's early communication cues will help to establish healthy routines of feeding and sleeping. During the first four weeks, babies begin to develop signs of personality development through characteristics such as vocal sounds, mannerisms and preferences. Rapidly developing physical skills help to motivate babies' curiosity and learning.
Social and Emotional Development
Bonding, or the secure emotional attachment of a newborn with the primary caregiver, which is often mom, supports development of emotional stability and confident social skills. By the age of four weeks, a well-fed and well-rested baby makes eye contact with her mom and enjoys smiles, cuddles, songs and chat. Most importantly, a baby learns to feel secure by the calm and fond responses of other caregivers, such as her father and grandparents, who help to strengthen baby's social skills and heighten her interest in other people.
Communication Skills
Babies learn to communicate by using a range of different cries that express needs and feelings such as hunger and fatigue. For example, they may cry loudly and rhythmically when hungry and whine when they feel tired. By the age of four weeks, babies try to copy facial expressions, such as an open mouth or a stuck-out tongue, and make little gurgling sounds. Babies produce their first smile when they are about six weeks old. Four-week-olds convey moods through facial expressions, such as a wide-eyed look of contented curiosity or a grumpy frown, and by way of agitated arm and leg movements that signal excitement, irritation or discomfort.
Physical Skills
By the age of four weeks, a baby can raise his head a couple of centimeters when lying face down, and move his head from side to side when positioned on his back. When lying on his back, he can kick his arms and legs in the air, and may attempt to turn his body to the side. He is learning basic hand-eye coordination skills and tries to connect his fist with his mouth. Improvements to the baby's eye muscle control enable him to stare at objects that are about 20 centimeters from his face and to follow objects in front of his face that are moved by a few centimeters from side to side.
Cognitive Development
Newborns prefer to look at human faces rather than at objects, such as crib mobiles, and favor listening to the sound of human voices. Four-week-old babies are learning to recognize the faces and voices of their primary caregivers and are becoming increasingly curious about objects that are placed nearby. According to Dr. Richard Woolfson, author of "Bright Start," four-week-olds remain alert for about one in every 10 hours, and stare longer at blue and green objects than at red ones. Improvements to memory skills enable four-week-olds to remember an object that reappears within a few seconds of its removal.
References
- Baby Center: Your 4-Week-Old's Development
- "Bright Start"; Dr. Richard C. Woolfson; 2003
