# How Long Before A Parent Can Tell The Different Baby's Cries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 4, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-a-parent-can-tell-the-different-babys-cries/516318 "2009-11-04T19:39:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-a-parent-can-tell-the-different-babys-cries/516318/21 "2009-11-06T03:39:04Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > The rest of the time, it was just the same old screaming… 24 hours a day… 7 days a week… (my son had 24/7 colic for 3-4 months and remained one of the worst sleepers I’ve ever heard of, for the first 2 years of his life. Yeah, it was horrible). That would be really hard. Beta-chan has only cried for as long as 45 minutes once (or a few times?) in her 13 months. She never cried about diapers, so there weren’t that many things, mostly being hungry or wanting to be held. Being aware of her schedule really helped. Now as she has started wanting specific things, she’s also be able to communicate, such as pointing in the vague direction of what she wants, and she’s just starting to learn mini tantrums, by laying herself down on the ground while crying. That’s just for wanting to be picked up for now. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2009, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-a-parent-can-tell-the-different-babys-cries/516318/22 "2009-11-06T09:54:47Z")
My babies had basically three different cries. #1 (quiet whimpering) “I’m a little bit unhappy Mummy” #2 (sustained grizzling) “I’m really VERY unhappy now” #3 (full-on yelling)" I’m SO FUCKING UNHAPPY you’d better do something about it RIGHT NOW!" All the rest is context, context, context. Three hours since the last drink of milk? Hmmm…now what could that possibly be? I can, these days, tell the difference between the “I caught my hand in the door”, the “He’s playing with the thing I WANT!” and the “She called me a poopyhead!”. But that took a fair while to develop. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-a-parent-can-tell-the-different-babys-cries/516318/23 "2009-11-06T11:40:01Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Yeah, the only one I ever really figured out was the, “I’m not getting the most attention!” one. That’s the only one I ever figured out. It’s easy to rule out the reason. If you fed him 30 minutes ago, they probably need to be changed. If you didn’t feed him in the last two hours, he’s probably hungry. If he’s been up for 4 hours, he probably needs a nap. If he just woke up and he’s been changed and fed, he’s probably bored. Rule of thumb: barring any obvious trauma, always check the diaper first. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-a-parent-can-tell-the-different-babys-cries/516318/24 "2009-11-06T11:45:18Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Those can be the best. Now and then The Littlest Briston will be off playing in another room, and I’ll hear a _whump!_ Then comes the sound of her quietly searching from room to room looking for me, until she finally finds me and _then_ starts wailing about falling down and hurting herself. I have the hardest time keeping a straight face… Forges has a Mafalda strip in which her brother Guille (pre-kindergarten) falls down while Mom is out at the grocer’s, takes his chair to the door, sits there waiting, and wails his heart out once she arrives. I mean, what’s the point of crying without an audience, right? ---
**Author:** ![UncleNito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7cd45c/32.png) [@UncleNito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleNito)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-a-parent-can-tell-the-different-babys-cries/516318/25 "2009-11-06T15:10:30Z")
A few weeks, maybe. It’s not so much that KidNito had distinctive cries, as distinctive tones of voice. “I’m hungry” was a pretty matter-of-fact squawk, like he just needed to bring something to our attention. If we took too long to respond, it would escalate in urgency. “Tired” had more of a frustrated, agitated tone. Scared/in pain was pretty unmistakable. Sick was more plaintive, with body language to match. That was pretty much it – we use disposables so wet diapers never bothered him. Being able to make educated guesses about what his needs might be (when did he last eat? is it naptime?) probably helped get us on the same page. Now that he’s two, he just tells us what he wants. “How 'bout Jai Ho Daddy?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-before-a-parent-can-tell-the-different-babys-cries/516318.md?page=1)