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"Mirror neurons enable infants and toddlers to learn facial expressions and physical maneuvers through imitation."
by David Dobbs, Scientific American Mind, April/May 2006
Engagement
This newborn baby is gazing at his mother and you can tell from his expression he is tuned into his mother's face. Babies tune into things that move, and they respond right from the beginning by mimicking your movement. People and objects that move toward and away from him seem to capture his attention.
Mimicking movement
Studies in Imitation by Andrew Meltzoff, Ph.D. and his team discovered in the early 1970's that "when they stuck out their tongues and moved them from side to side, the newborns responded in kind". I have found that this is still new information for most parents.
 This mother is playing a wiggle-waggle game with her baby. Although he is not mimicking her, we can tell by his rapt attention that he is focusing on what she is doing.
Tip: Be patient, it may take your baby a few days before responding by moving his tongue in and out of his mouth. (see P.42 in the Amazing Babies Moving Book)
Social Interaction Sequence
In my video documentation of a mother and 2 month old, I noticed that her baby also 'added a smile at the end of their tongue game'. Social Smiling is one of the interactive expressions of budding 2 month old babies. This little interactive sequence is significant because babies can now add a new response to their social interactions that communicate their pleasure. When your baby extends her communication with you by adding a smile to her tongue game, she is further developing her social interaction skills. This is the beginning of lots of smiles and bright eyes that let you know how your baby is enjoying their social interactions.
And we can't say enough about the benefits of smiling and vocalizing with your baby. This is a delightful social interaction between a 3 month old baby and his Dad.
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