My five month old just started learning to spit and has been doing it repeatedly and then laughing. Our guess is that she's learning about the good stuff- the feeling on her lips and the wetness it makes, the affect it has on us (haha!), and other things. We were wondering... we know she can't yet understand no or stop, but should we be discouraging this, does this last a long time, is it common, etc.?
Thank you, everyone, for your advice! We agree with most responses that our little girl is just exploring and learning new things every day, but wanted to hear from others about similar experiences. It's so nice to have an opportunity to communicate with other moms in this way. Really helps us feel reassured as new parents. Thanks again for taking the time to write back!
I wouldn't react at all. There's no way to teach a baby to stop something at this point, and it'll lose its excitement after a little while. Then she'll find some other neat new yucky thing to do! :)
It's totally common and should not be discouraged in any way. She's just exploring all of the different things she can do with her body.
Lynsey
PS-Please don't follow the advice below by grabbing her cheeks and saying "no!" She's just an infant and is most certainly too young to comprehend the word "no."
How adorable!!! My daughters did the same thing. She is probably trying to make raspberries or learning to blow. Please, do not discourage it and grab her cheeks or tell her no. She isn't doing anything wrong. She will stop on her own and try something new. My daughters were making lots of cute noises at that age and we always reinforced it.
raspberries are a stage that babies go thru. She is developing and becoming aware of her face. Go with it laugh with her, as she is developing a personality.
Give her the attention and poitive reinforcement she is looking for. She is an infant and is not spitting on purpose. She found a way to move her lips and it just so happens saliva is coming out. Encourage her development! encourage her personality! and by all means give her this attention!!
There will be plenty of time later on to ignore other behavior and tell her no. Geez parents need to chill.
ENJOY HER EXPLORING AND HER DEVELOPING HAPPILY 8)
don't give her any reaction when she does it - not even eye contact which is still attention. Do not say "no" or anything.
She's probably making rasberries and was positively reinforced when she spat.
It's exciting to have a new fun way to interact with your baby. I would spit back and we would go back and forth when my daughter learned to do this. I was very excited when I had a new way to communicate and have fun and make her giggle. Enjoy it. There is nothing wrong with it at all. Even now (at 22 months old) if she is down and I want to make her giggle, I sometimes spit so she spits back and cheers up.
She is never to young to learn the word no. When my kids started to spit, we would grab their checks (kind of like to make their lips pucker) and say (in a firm voice) no spitting. Be serious and don't laugh. She may not understand your words, but she will understand the tone in your voice.
How cute! She'll eventually stop. Just don't give her too much attention when she's doing it. And definitely don't grab her cheeks like the previous poster suggested! Your daughter is starting to learn to entertain herself. You could try something to distract her like pat a cake, when she starts spitting. :)
Nadia,
The more you laugh, the more she'll do it - and remember it. :)
Tape it once, and if you don't want to see it again, you'll laugh less and less, or not at all.
Have a great time! Wait 'till she starts growling! :D
Good Luck,
M.
Time to develope your "poker face". If you want the spitting to stop, I would give her as little feedback (positive or negative) as possible.
If you think it's adorable and funny you can encourage her and have a great time - just don't expect her to be able to change gears or understand if all the sudden you're somewhere you don't feel it's appropriate, but she really wants your attention and to make you laugh.
Enjoy her!
I personally would not rush to discourage this, she is discovering new things about herself which is a sign of healthy brain development. So let her spit away! Spit with her if you want! It will eventually get old and she will move on to discover something else...
My son is 10 months and he discovered this skill early as well, he occasionally does it now and we laugh together. When she is over a year and if it continues then, she will better understand the word "no" and you can use your discretion as to whether or not it should be discouraged at that time. But for now, I would not worry about it. Enjoy her now, time goes so fast!
Hi N B,
Since you are a teacher I am assuming you had child development courses in your undergraduate studies?
If so, than you surely know that what she is doing is not "spitting" but instead she is simply learning.
Anyone who tries to discipline an infant for learning has no understanding of how babies grow.
So just enjoy watching her grow and learn!
Hi NB,
There's really nothing that you can do to discourage or teach an infant not to do something, but my suggestion would be to ignore the behavior, don't laugh or react in any way. She may do it just to amuse herself, but if she sees that you are shocked or find it funny, she is likely to keep doing it for a reaction or your attention. If you're spending time with relatives, I would let them know to do the same.
