# Are high-pitch/ childish voices annoying? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 21, 2018, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497 "2018-06-21T07:29:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/1 "2018-06-21T07:29:09Z")
Sometimes I find kids voices annoying when watching something on youtube or playing an online game. Anyone else? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/2 "2018-06-21T07:38:39Z")
Yes. It’s a feature, not a bug: our “pay attention” switches are triggered by those voices, thus when there is an actual kid nearby it’s more likely to have someone or other pay enough attention to them to eventually reach adult age. ---
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/3 "2018-06-21T07:42:26Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Yes. > > It’s a feature, not a bug: our “pay attention” switches are triggered by those voices, thus when there is an actual kid nearby it’s more likely to have someone or other pay enough attention to them to eventually reach adult age. So is this annoying… ? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pHYVPuHfHcU/maxresdefault.jpg "TALK IN YOUR REAL VOICE! | Meghan McCarthy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHYVPuHfHcU) Just listen to the audio without watching the video. She is popular on youtube and she is much older than her voice. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/4 "2018-06-21T07:48:14Z")
Not going to listen to it (I’m at work), but when I first heard Melanie Griffith in the original I was surprised by her voice being even higher and more irritating than in the Spanish dubbings (people wonder “why the hell did they give her such a grating voice?”). Cayetana de Alba (the latest late Duchess of Alba) and Gracita Morales are other examples of grown women with pitches that sound more like a 2yo. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/5 "2018-06-21T07:59:59Z")
I can’t watch any Star Trek with Janeway in it because of her high pitched voice. And I’m sure that’s unfair and she’s probably a fine actress…but I just can’t handle it. I don’t know how I managed to get through my own kids’ younger childhood ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/6 "2018-06-21T08:00:33Z")
YES, omg yes! I cannot stand it. It better be a damn interesting video to keep me from stopping it immediately when I hear kids. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/7 "2018-06-21T09:56:14Z")
I listen to the local morning sports radio show most mornings. I have to turn it off when the “news” woman does her hourly segment. Her voice grates on every nerve I own. How she got that gig is one of life’s great mysteries. mmm ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/8 "2018-06-21T12:04:02Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > So is this annoying… ? > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHYVPuHfHcU&ab\_channel=MeghanMcCarthy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHYVPuHfHcU&ab_channel=MeghanMcCarthy) > > Just listen to the audio without watching the video. She is popular on youtube and she is much older than her voice. Maybe she’s on helium. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/9 "2018-06-21T13:04:29Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > Sometimes I find kids voices annoying when watching something on youtube or playing an online game. > > Anyone else? not unless they’re altered or “played up” to sound more squee. or are fake, voiced by adults to be really high pitched. it’s why I can’t stand anime at all. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/10 "2018-06-21T13:27:07Z")
I think we are evolved to hear children’s voices with a different kind of attention. This has enabled us to manage the extremely long dependency period of human children. When adults have children’s voices – or do anything that is more associated with children – we have a sense of, maybe not wrongness, but awkwardness? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/11 "2018-06-21T13:34:21Z")
I have a niece who sounds like Melanie Griffin. Drives me batty. I think part of it is affected to get attention. And boy, does she. She just had a baby. I am already wondering how he will speak. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/12 "2018-06-21T13:39:36Z")
I hit the mute button every time there’s a TV ad featuring cute widdle kiddies and their cute widdle voices pushing products. Similar ads on radio get cut off too. I’m sure this is balanced by the people who find wuv pwecious pitch-children and find such ads irresistible. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/13 "2018-06-21T13:52:19Z")
> [@Contemplation](#): > > Sometimes I find kids voices annoying when watching something on youtube or playing an online game. > > Anyone else? Yes, a lot of actresses have adopted a high pitched annoying voice for their characters, and it does the job. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/14 "2018-06-21T14:48:41Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > I can’t watch any Star Trek with Janeway in it because of her high pitched voice. And I’m sure that’s unfair and she’s probably a fine actress…but I just can’t handle it. I don’t know how I managed to get through my own kids’ younger childhood Kate Mulgrew is a woman with a lower pitched voice; most women have a higher pitch than she does. Do you find most female actors’ voices unhandleable? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/15 "2018-06-21T15:12:10Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I have a niece who sounds like Melanie Griffin. Drives me batty. I think part of it is affected to get attention. And boy, does she. > She just had a baby. **I am already wondering how he will speak.** Probably like [this guy.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UoJ-34Ssa0) ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/16 "2018-06-21T15:27:08Z")
If you work any job that includes a lot of phone work, those high pitched little girl voices on adult women will make you want to bite your own ass. Also the women who talk as though they have a mouth full of saliva. Spit talkers I call them. And yes, children shill products. AND people who have kids do their outgoing VM messages ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/17 "2018-06-21T15:32:16Z")
The sound of children’s laughter, if prolonged more than a moment or two, is like nails on a chalkboard to me. When I had my own kids, I made sure they stayed damned unhappy. ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/18 "2018-06-21T15:47:37Z")
I actually like kid’s voices. I find it pleasant to hear kids playing in a park. Although I do have some voice aversions, particularly to different languages. Cantonese to me sounds like people arguing, so it’s off-putting, but Mandarin doesn’t bother me as much. German and Finnish sound a bit grating to me as well. No idea why, probably just the way that vowels and consonants are put together. Tone though doesn’t bother me too much, unless it’s a fake tone. If someone is faking a child’s voice or faking a deeper voice, it does grow tiresome. I really hate up-speak as well, it just sounds contrived and I hate that it has become so popular. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/19 "2018-06-21T16:05:13Z")
I can tolerate children’s voices, but can’t stand their high pitched screams of laughter. It like chalk on a blackboard! I used to play an online WWII game and when a kid would come into online, everyone would tell them to keep quiet, especially if they start giving directions. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497/20 "2018-06-21T16:21:54Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > I actually like kid’s voices. I find it pleasant to hear kids playing in a park. Although I do have some voice aversions, particularly to different languages. Cantonese to me sounds like people arguing, so it’s off-putting, but Mandarin doesn’t bother me as much. German and Finnish sound a bit grating to me as well. No idea why, probably just the way that vowels and consonants are put together. Tone though doesn’t bother me too much, unless it’s a fake tone. If someone is faking a child’s voice or faking a deeper voice, it does grow tiresome. I really hate up-speak as well, it just sounds contrived and I hate that it has become so popular. LOL! I used to think Cantonese and Korean speakers sound angry, but since I’ve come to love Chinese (both Cantonese and Mandarin) and Korean movies and shows, I actually find the speech pleasant. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-pitch-childish-voices-annoying/816497.md?page=2)