You will agree that the sound of a baby’s laughter is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world.

While most parents may know why their baby’s laugh, others may not understand the reason for this joyful sound. So Dr Caspar Addyman, a Research Fellow at London Birkbeck University’s Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development has decided to conduct one of the biggest studies into what makes babies laugh.

According to the UK Daily Mail, Dr Addyman — a banker turned psychologist who doesn’t have any children — believes so much in this study that he is funding the research himself. He’s created a detailed questionnaire for parents, as well as asking them to send in videos and short reports of what makes their babies laugh.

‘Understanding babies also helps us understand adults,’ he says. ‘Babies are little scientists. They are discovering the world and through them we can discover a great deal, too.’

Till date, about 1,400 parents from 25 countries have answered questions ranging from whether their baby was more likely to laugh at a particular time of day to which toys and nursery rhymes they found funniest.

‘We also asked whether they found Mummy or Daddy funniest and what the baby’s general temperament was. We are also working on a separate questionnaire to work out whether there is a correlation between laughing babies and a calmer temperament,’ Dr Addyman told the Mail.

 

‘The big surprise has been that, contrary to general perception, laughter is present from a very early age,’ he says.

 

‘Ninety per cent of babies have smiled in the first two months and laughed just a few weeks after that, while we have had reports from parents that their baby has laughed unambiguously at just a few weeks old.

 

‘Laughter is foremost a social thing. You laugh in company,’ he says. ‘One of the clearest bits of evidence we’ve found is that it is not necessarily what you are doing, but the fact you are present with your baby that’s important — that is why they are happy.

 

‘The interesting thing, too, is that most parents play games instinctively because babies have an amazing way of getting adults to do stupid things that benefit everyone. ‘It makes them laugh, but it is a bonding experience, too, which is really important.’

The following is what he found;

• Mums and dads appear to score equally when it comes to making a baby laugh.
• Boys who seem to have the biggest sense of humour, with parents reporting their sons laughed nearly 50 times a day in contrast to a mere 37 for daughters.
• In the first year, smiles, laughs and tears are a baby’s only way of communicating.
• The first way to get babies to laugh is through human touch and tickling makes babies laugh.
• Babies laugh when looking at a mirror because mirroring of expressions breaks natural social conventions, and babies find this funny.
• Babies laugh when taking a bath or playing with water.
• Peek-a-boo tops the worldwide list of laughter-making games.
• Parents overwhelmingly reported that dolls and puppets were their baby’s funniest toy.

Do you know why your baby laughs? Tell us.