Why does my baby fake cough?

Parenting is a battle that everyone wins with a happy outcome. We love watching our babies grow. The baby and toddler days do not last long but they will leave you a load of memories that will not fade forever. You will never get over the funny and cute things that your baby does. But some behaviors of your baby will stop being fun after the first few time of repetition. 

Fake coughing is one such behavior that you will find cute the first time they do it. When they start doing it continuously, you will worry whether they are actually sick or not. It is also not entertaining to listen to a fake cough throughout your busy day. Fake coughing is not an abnormal behavior among babies. But if your baby is coughing for no reason, you would like to know why they do that and how to stop that endless coughing joke. Keep reading this article, and you will find your answers. 

CONTENT

1.   Is it normal for my baby to fake cough?

2.   Why does my baby fake cough?

3.   How to differentiate between a fake cough and a real cough?

1.    Is it normal for my baby to fake cough? 

The babies have very few ways to communicate with the adults until they start talking. They use non-verbal communicative methods such as crying and gurgling to let you know their emotions. Fake coughs and sneezes are also nothing more than a cute little gurgle made to get your attention. 

It is normal for babies to fake coughs or sneezes. They will start doing this starting from the age of six months. There is not only one reason that makes your baby pretend to cough. The reasons may vary from one baby to another. 

2.    Why does my baby fake cough? 

Attention. 

You can be with your baby the whole day. But the moment you look away they will start to miss you. There is nothing called too much attention when it comes to babies. 

They will fake cough once, and if they notice that you come running to him after a cough, that is when he decides to keep coughing till he is tired of it. But the problem is that the babies will never get tired of fake coughing when they get the attention they seek from it. 

Fun

You will think being a baby is easy because you feed, bathe and put them to sleep. But they too can get bored of the monotonous daily routine they go through every day and look for some fun. 

They will cough and laugh at themselves or look how you laugh at them. It is harder for babies and everyone to give up on something fun. This is another reason why baby’s fake cough, just for fun! 

Drooling 

When your baby passes the age of two months, he will start to drool constantly. The babies have no idea what to do with the saliva filling in their mouths. Instead of wallowing or spitting them out, they will experiment with different things to play with saliva, and fake coughing can be a result of such a play.

Sound

Have you ever heard someone who is coughing and thought that they sound funny? It seems rude to think so but, I know we all have done it at least once in our life. The babies feel the same about their own coughs. Why should they stop something that makes them happy? This may be the reason why your baby keeps coughing for no reason. 

3.    How to differentiate between a fake cough and a real cough? 

This is the real struggle when it comes to this fake coughing game. Babies tend to get a lot of coughs and colds in the first year of their life. Therefore, the parents must know what cough needs medications and what does not. Below are a few tips to find out if your baby is coughing for play or he is sick. 

• The real coughs usually appear with a fever. If your baby is coughing and has a fever, he is not faking it. Contact your pediatrician soon. 
• If your baby has a runny nose along with a cough, you need to contact your pediatrician. Common colds are infections that generally appear with coughs. 
• Some coughs that continue over time result from respiratory diseases. If your baby has a cough and shows the difficulty in breathing you need to seek medical attention as soon as possible. 
• When the cough is accompanied by other symptoms of a health problem such as sleep issues, bowel movements issues, and lack of appetite, it is probably not a fake cough. 
• The babies cough when something blocks their respiratory path. Young babies who have just learned to pick things up by their hands are likely to put anything inside their mouths. If you suspect that the baby has swallowed something that is choking him now, give abdominal thrusts. Immediate medical attention is a must in this type of case. 
• Cough can be caused by allergic reactions too. Your baby can be allergic to something in his surrounding that makes him cough continuously. Try to find the allergen and prevent your baby from interacting with it. You might need your pediatrician’s support to determine the allergen. Here are some tips to deal with a dry cough from an allergic reaction.
• Your baby will cough constantly if he has health conditions such as GERD. Read this article to know the symtomps and more about GERD. If it is already diagnosed, you can continue the prescribed medications but do not forget to let your healthcare provider know that your baby is having frequent coughs.