# How do they get toddlers to cry in movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 30, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598 "2006-07-30T20:36:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Carlyjay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Carlyjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carlyjay)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/1 "2006-07-30T20:36:25Z")
Example. In _The Pirates of the Carribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl_, during the scene where the Black Pearl pirates are raiding the town, there are a couple of brief shots of a terrified, screaming child, maybe 2 or 3 years old. He looks TRAUMATIZED. How the hell did they do that? Did they just plop the kid into the middle of the mayhem and scare the shit out of him? Isn’t that sort of cruel? Isn’t it possible that could create long-standing phobias and nightmares? And knowing the film industry, the shot would have likely been done more than once. So did they keep the kid screaming? Did they have 40 screaming children that they used interchangeably? How the beans do they do shots like this in films without being horribly, horribly cruel and inhumane? ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/2 "2006-07-30T22:03:00Z")
[Here’s a guess.](http://somethingpositive.net/sp07092006.shtml) Seriously, it’s easy to create phobias through classical conditioning in a toddler or baby, but it’s pretty easy to reverse them, too. (For a developmental psychologist, that is.) The people who best know how to make babies cry on cue also know how to make sure they aren’t screwed up for life. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2006, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/3 "2006-07-30T22:05:16Z")
I have no idea, but as the parent of a small child I can tell you that many kids routinely scream several times a day, as they bump their toes, lose toys to other children, don’t get their way, see a bug, lose the bug, the graham cracker breaks, you don’t sing the song just right…and they look pretty traumatized while they’re doing it. Little kids don’t have much of a sense of proportion, and graham-cracker-breaking is a horrible tragedy to some of 'em. Possibly all you have to do is gather some tragedy-prone kids, set up a camera, and wait. ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/4 "2006-07-30T23:02:07Z")
For many (if not most) toddlers, all that is necessary to make them scream bloody murder is to dress them up and ask them to be quiet. 🙂 Seriously, if you set a child down in a strange place, with lots of strangers, cameras, lights, etc., and get Mom to walk out of sight, they will scream at the top of their lungs. The real trick is to get them NOT to cry. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2006, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/5 "2006-07-30T23:07:11Z")
Casting directors look for kids whose general state of being is what they’re looking for: cryers, smilers, stare-into-space-and-look-cute, etc. If they want a kid for a crying scene, they’ll cast a kid who cries throughout the audition. Then the kid will act however the hell he feels like acting on the day of shooting. If you want him to cry, he won’t. 😉 There is a person on set (NEVER mom or dad) whose job it is to make the kid cry. Usually they do this by giving the kid something (a sucker, a toy) and then taking it away and ducking out of the shot. They shoot for a few seconds, and them mom or dad swoops in and saves the day, consoling the kid. (Incidently, the last time this came up in a thread I got accused of condoning child abuse. Whatever. :rolleyes: ) ---
**Author:** ![Carlyjay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Carlyjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carlyjay)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/6 "2006-07-31T11:07:12Z")
So I guess it’s as easy as…well, taking candy from a baby. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/7 "2006-07-31T11:36:00Z")
I once read somewhere that applying an ice cube to the sole of a baby’s foot for a couple of seconds was the accepted method. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/8 "2006-07-31T11:48:25Z")
[QUOTE=Carlyjay] How the beans do they do shots like this in films without being horribly, horribly cruel and inhumane? [/QUOTE] A friend told me her mother took her out for crying in church and “pinched the pee” out of he bottom. Stopped the crying then and prevented further ephisodes. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/9 "2006-07-31T13:11:16Z")
Based on my own experience from when MilliCal was little, I’d think a more relevant question would be _How do they keep babies from crying long enough to set up and get a shot?_ I’m surprised no one’s linked to this thread: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=381824&page=3](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=381824&page=3) And, **springears** , what the heck does this mean? I’ve read it several times and I still can’tr make sense of it: > [@](#): > > A friend told me her mother took her out for crying in church and _“pinched the pee” out of the bottom_. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/10 "2006-07-31T13:11:39Z")
[QUOTE=Rhubarb] For many (if not most) toddlers, all that is necessary to make them scream bloody murder is to dress them up and ask them to be quiet. 🙂 Seriously, if you set a child down in a strange place, with lots of strangers, cameras, lights, etc., and get Mom to walk out of sight, they will scream at the top of their lungs. The real trick is to get them NOT to cry. [/QUOTE] Absolutely right! It’s very difficult to get little kids on a set NOT to cry, which is why they often hire twins or triplets for any given part. The Olsen twins, for instance, were hired to play the one role of Michelle Tanner on “Full House” precisely so that a scene could still be shot if one of them was fussy or cranky or bawling. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/11 "2006-07-31T13:49:00Z")
Paintball guns. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/12 "2006-07-31T14:22:42Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] And, **springears** , what the heck does this mean? I’ve read it several times and I still can’tr make sense of it: [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Rhubarb] The real trick is to get them NOT to cry. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=spingears] A friend told me her mother took her out for crying in church and “pinched the pee” out of her bottom. [/QUOTE] Stopped the crying then and prevented further ephisodes. 😉 QED? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/13 "2006-07-31T16:45:33Z")
[QUOTE=astorian] Absolutely right! It’s very difficult to get little kids on a set NOT to cry, which is why they often hire twins or triplets for any given part. The Olsen twins, for instance, were hired to play the one role of Michelle Tanner on “Full House” precisely so that a scene could still be shot if one of them was fussy or cranky or bawling. [/QUOTE] Not really. Having twins/trips allows them to shoot without running afoul of the child labor laws. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/14 "2006-07-31T17:19:53Z")
> [@spingears](#): > > A friend told me her mother took her out for crying in church and “pinched the pee” out of he bottom. > Stopped the crying then and prevented further ephisodes. Er, what? I have no idea what she did from this description. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/15 "2006-07-31T17:27:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Quote: > Originally Posted by spingears > A friend told me her mother took her out for crying in church and “pinched the pee” out of he bottom. > Stopped the crying then and prevented further ephisodes. > > Er, what? I have no idea what she did from this description. Nor do I, despite **springears’** response to me above. What does ““pinched the pee” out of [t]he bottom” mean? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/16 "2006-07-31T18:04:15Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Nor do I, despite **springears’** response to me above. What does ““pinched the pee” out of [t]he bottom” mean? [/QUOTE] To further articulate the confusion, pee doesn’t come out of the bottom, further, pinching _anywhere_ won’t make the pee come out, and lastly, pinching a baby will not stop crying but quite the reverse. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/17 "2006-07-31T18:11:06Z")
[QUOTE=CookingWithGas] To further articulate the confusion, pee doesn’t come out of the bottom, further, pinching _anywhere_ won’t make the pee come out, and lastly, pinching a baby will not stop crying but quite the reverse. [/QUOTE] Sounds like they’re saying the person took the kid outside and pinched them hard on the butt, and that taught them to be quiet in church…? ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/18 "2006-07-31T20:24:20Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Nor do I, despite **springears’** response to me above. What does ““pinched the pee” out of [t]he bottom” mean? [/QUOTE] I read it as ““pinched the pee” out of he[r] bottom” - ie, took her out back & pinched her butt somethin’ fierce. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/19 "2006-07-31T22:02:56Z")
Here’s how they did it in Chaplin’s 1921 masterpiece _The Kid_: > [@IMDB](#): > > For the scene in which the Kid is taken from the Tramp and nearly carted away to a workhouse, Charles Chaplin stated in his autobiography that the young Jackie Coogan was made to cry by his father, who told him that if he would not cry in the scene, he would be sent to an actual workhouse. ---
**Author:** ![t-mobileguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@t-mobileguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-mobileguy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2006, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598/20 "2006-08-01T00:15:46Z")
I once had the pee pinched out of me. See I had this stone that I needed to pass… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-get-toddlers-to-cry-in-movies/366598.md?page=2)