# I don't get why people think babies and toddlers are funny. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 5, 2013, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115 "2013-03-05T20:50:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/41 "2013-03-06T14:15:26Z")
Before I had a child, my interest in kid noises and activities was pretty low. America’s Funniest and viral kid vids were lost on me. But now that I have one of my own, I understand that people are celebrating milestones and marveling at how an entirely guileless, novel, unprejudiced, unpolluted brain works. There is such a brief window of time before a child’s thoughts and actions are guided almost entirely by others; when you watch an infant and toddler you are seeing the most raw, unfiltered, unpolished human functions possible. Watching an entire, complex person grow out of the handful of cells you tossed together in a rowdy bedroom boink a few months before is fascinating. For months a baby’s only sound is a cry or complaint. They don’t make happy noises for several months, so a laugh is very gratifying. It means you’re doing something right. Smiles, laughter, and mimicking adults is another very big deal. Humans are social animals, and the healthiest, safest, most well-adjusted and lovable human beings are those who can smile, laugh, and engage others. Happy moments are worth celebrating and sharing. A baby’s first forays into independence are thrilling to those who have watched an infant do little more than eat, cry, sleep, and poop for months. That first grasp of a toy, first shake of a rattle, first attempt at crawling, first words and first steps are a marvel. The little one finally has some independence and isn’t a helpless little grub anymore. Reaching those first milestones are a very big deal for them, too. Finally, some control over their tiny worlds! And because kids are effing ridiculous. They come up with some crazy, awkward concepts of fun that we can’t compete with and we may be a little jealous of. Hours of fun with a empty water bottle and a cardboard box. Tearing paper or a barking dog inspires hilarity. A wooden spoon and a couple saucepans are orchestral maneuvers to them. When my baby discovered her feet her glee surpassed whatever Columbus supposedly felt. Since she was 8 months old, mine pretends to read “bah, bah, Bah-BAH!” with tone and inflection and pauses for page turns. Except she holds the book upside down, sideways, or closed. It’s funny to me, funny to those who love us, and kind of funny to those whose kids did similar things. Kids are just transparent, and it’s amusing to watch every single thought and concept that pings through their growing minds. And it only happens once, and for a very brief time, and it’s gone forever and replaced with normal, mundane people things if we don’t record it or share it. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/42 "2013-03-06T14:17:34Z")
I don’t like screaming babies, I don’t like babies in the office, I HATE when people bring their little rugrats in to run around and cause trouble and the ENTIRE office grinds to a halt because there is a little baby in the office. I hate that as a woman I am expected to like the baby and also coo over it. I have work to do! I hate that babies are the focus of every conversation and once you have a baby, that’s it, that is all you can talk about, to the point where you drop your friends who don’t have babies. And I can still enjoy a baby video! They laugh like we all should laugh: truthfully and honestly. I still laugh like that and I swear, it’s what keeps me young. Their laughter is infectious. Not everything they do is cute. Not everything they do is uncute, either. I don’t like them once they get to around 3 or 4, though. Then they start mouthing off and backtalking and pretty much I’ll get back to you when they’re eighteen or so. ---
**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:** [March 6, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/43 "2013-03-06T15:38:51Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I have honestly never before in my life heard someone say they prefer the sound of a baby crying to that of a baby laughing. That’s fucked up. I don’t mean that I get my jollies off kids being hurt or miserable. I have two kids of my own and love them very much. But the sound of children’s laughter is almost painful to me. I don’t pinch a laughing kid, I just make for the door. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/44 "2013-03-06T16:47:31Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > I just hope you all uphold your convictions and get “fixed.” I did. 🙂 I don’t have any kids and have no intention to and as of last year, am no longer able to. Can I still criticize? ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/45 "2013-03-06T17:03:14Z")
I don’t mind cute baby videos. It’s when someone posts 1000 pictures of their baby online and everyone goes on and on about how cute it is… when it isn’t. It’s probably the ugliest baby I’ve ever seen and someone I know who has also seen it said he was worried it would start eating people pretty soon. Also, I’m pretty much on birth control for life. No plans for kids. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/46 "2013-03-06T17:20:48Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > But most people do dislike crying babies - we rush to them because we feel the need to fix whatever caused the baby to cry. I’m not any kind of “baby softie”, but the need to Fix Baby Now is definitely strong. There’s also a reason that there is always some campaign or another of “never shake your baby!” Heck, my wife and I were told multiple times by multiple doctors that when we get to that point just put her in her sleeper, close the door, and call a friend or something. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/47 "2013-03-06T17:35:16Z")
> [@Anomie](#): > > Oxytocin is a helluva drug. +1000 Snuggling with my kids at the end of the day releases some pretty powerful hormones and makes everything in the world better. Even on the shittiest, saddest day, I get that “falling in love” feeling all over again—and twice, because I have two of them! That being said, one of my proudest moments as a parent and a social creature was the day I was telling a\* hilarious\* story about my son, got halfway through it and said to the person I was talking to (a childless coworker), “You know what? This really isn’t funny unless you gave birth to this kid” and changed the topic. The same coworker would occasionally ask me questions about my kids after that, probably because he knew I wasn’t going to cram every single detail down his throat. (And not just the small-talk, polite “How are the kids?” but showing interest in things I had mentioned in passing before. “Wasn’t daughter signed up for karate? How’s that going?”) Now _cat_ people. Those people are fucked up. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/48 "2013-03-06T17:40:49Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I don’t like screaming babies, I don’t like babies in the office, I HATE when people bring their little rugrats in to run around and cause trouble and the ENTIRE office grinds to a halt because there is a little baby in the office. I hate that as a woman I am expected to like the baby and also coo over it. I have work to do! I hate that babies are the focus of every conversation and once you have a baby, that’s it, that is all you can talk about, to the point where you drop your friends who don’t have babies. Is there perhaps some middle ground you’re overlooking here? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/49 "2013-03-06T18:19:26Z")
> [@Nerdessence](#): > > You can’t deconstruct the things these kids do. There’s no real cause and effect. > > It’s a baby laughing. Where’s the punchline? In the baby laughing video linked above, the cause and effect is pretty obvious. The baby is laughing at the goofy “Bing! Bong!” noises his dad is making. Such noises don’t seem particularly funny to an adult, but that’s kind of the joke of this video – the baby is laughing like this is the funniest thing he’s ever heard, and since he’s just a baby it very well may be literally the funniest thing he’s ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/50 "2013-03-06T19:11:28Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > Is there perhaps some middle ground you’re overlooking here? Uh…I am not sure what you are asking. You cut out the second, and far more relevant portion of my post. My point was to show that even someone like me who isn’t particularly enamored of children can still find them funny. What are you asking me? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/51 "2013-03-06T19:15:07Z")
There are message boards online, which I will not post the link for, where people talk about how much they hate children, especially babies. I lurk there sometimes because I find the attitude oddly fascinating. It reminds me a lot of other, more well-known message boards where racists and anti-Semites post their rants. ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/52 "2013-03-06T19:29:25Z")
Right, everyone who doesn’t share MY preference is a Nazi too. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/53 "2013-03-06T19:52:26Z")
> [@kk\_fusion](#): > > Right, everyone who doesn’t share MY preference is a Nazi too. If you’re willing to join a message board just to post about how much you hate kids, then yeah, pretty much. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/54 "2013-03-06T20:22:04Z")
You’re a Nazi because you have the temerity to join a message board to post about how much you hate kids? I thought you were a Nazi because, you know, you wanted to kill a bunch of people and thought the human race was better off without them. What a surprise! ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/55 "2013-03-06T20:27:00Z")
Nazi comparisons are almost always over the top, but the childfree message boards are pretty alarming as far as general level of hatred, vitriol, etc. You get the sense, reading through them, that many of these people feel as though most parents had kids _specifically to anger them_. And that it is working really, really well. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/56 "2013-03-06T20:31:28Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Nazi comparisons are almost always over the top, but the childfree message boards are pretty alarming as far as general level of hatred, vitriol, etc. You get the sense, reading through them, that many of these people feel as though most parents had kids _specifically to anger them_. And that it is working really, really well. Actually, I did know that. I was just amused that not only was there a Nazi comparison, but it was backed up too. I know a lot of people can get pretty virulent on the childfree message boards. It’s pretty depressing. Being childfree, I wanted to find some like-minded people to chat with, but instead, they ironically spend all their time talking about…children. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/57 "2013-03-06T20:44:46Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Actually, I did know that. I was just amused that not only was there a Nazi comparison, but it was backed up too. > > I know a lot of people can get pretty virulent on the childfree message boards. It’s pretty depressing. Being childfree, I wanted to find some like-minded people to chat with, but instead, they ironically spend all their time talking about…children. I think this is a problem with any sort of community that’s based around a negative. It’s not quite as bad as the childfree stuff, but I sort of run into the same thing with atheist boards and the like. At some point you just want to read a thread that’s not bitching about religion and how much it sucks. (Sorry for the hijack.) ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/58 "2013-03-06T20:56:52Z")
You know what I really don’t get? You may not have children. You may not want children. But what can be said with absolute certainty is that at some point, you WERE a child. So perhaps, out of respect for the child you once were, you might cut them some slack? It can be pretty much guaranteed that you weren’t constantly adorable and hilarious and well-behaved either. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/59 "2013-03-06T20:58:26Z")
Who are you talking to? The childfree boards? They can’t hear you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115/60 "2013-03-06T21:01:17Z")
Everyone can hear me, I’m using my Mummy voice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-why-people-think-babies-and-toddlers-are-funny/652115.md?page=4)