Although crying is a human function that continues throughout life, it has much greater importance during early childhood; Until they develop more complex behavioral patterns, such as gestures and language, crying is the spontaneous way that babies convey their needs to adults.
In this article we will describe the functions of crying focusing on the 4 main types described by Peter H. Wolff: hunger, anger, pain, and attention or frustration. Each one has a different presentation pattern, although anger is a variant of hunger and attention or frustration is not always taken into account.
Crying is the main mode of communication for babies Children respond to their bodily states of discomfort through the movements, sounds and physiological reactions that make up this phenomenon; Although there is no communicative intentionality, adults respond naturally when they see or hear a crying baby.
In particular, scientific research has shown that mothers have responses similar to those of anxiety or stress When your babies cry: the heart rate accelerates and the skin’s conductance increases as a result of increased sweat secretion.
Theoretical perspectives
From the evolutionary perspective, crying is understood as an adaptation of the human species to life in society. Throughout history our body has adapted to express crying and to respond when it occurs in others. In infants, crying would have been especially effective in facilitating survival by promoting helping.
T. Berry Brazelton, author of the well-known Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale, hypothesized that crying has the general function of emotional discharge when the baby is subjected to environmental overstimulation. It would, therefore, be a way to maintain homeostasis in the nervous system.
For her part, Aletha Solter, an evolutionary psychologist who studied with Jean Piaget, stated that Crying can be beneficial for releasing tension when it is not due to hunger, pain or other easily identifiable causes. Solter, like other experts, said the best way to handle crying babies is to hold them and let them end naturally.
The 4 types of crying
Through his clinical observations Peter H. Wolff identified four basic types of crying in infants and young children. In addition to its functions, These types of crying differ in their physical characteristics so it is usually possible to discover what is happening to the baby from the topography of the crying.
Of course, variations of each type can occur, and in fact it has been shown that parents more easily distinguish the cries of their own babies than those of others. This is associated with familiarity and the fact that children imitate the timbre of their parents’ voices, the main influence on their communicative development.
1. Hunger (basic)
The basic cry It is regular and rhythmic: first the baby utters a brief cry, which is followed by a shorter pause in which an inhalation occurs; Then the cries and inspirations alternate. This type of crying usually appears in response to feelings of hunger.
This type of crying is similar to that of hunger, although in this case the cries are more intense and abrupt because the amount of air that the baby expels is greater. Furthermore, the duration of crying periods compared to inspirations is longer than in the basic type.
3. Of pain
Crying in pain moves away from the basic pattern. In this case the explosion of crying is not preceded by complaints, so it is more sudden. On the other hand, after crying the baby holds his breath, unlike what happens when he cries from hunger or when he cries from anger.
According to research, adults are prepared to respond more quickly to crying in pain than basic crying, which is logical considering that it is much more striking.
4. Attention or frustration
According to Wolff, crying to get attention or to express frustration begins to occur later than the rest, from the third week of life. It is a more limited cry than the previous ones since it is made up of the appearance of two or three whimpers In this case, no breath holding is detected.
Many classifications of the types of crying do not include attention or frustration, although their distinctive characteristics make it relevant to separate them from the rest of the types.
