Читать книгу The Fussy Baby Book: Parenting your high-need child from birth to five - Martha Sears - Страница 54

Scientists have long appreciated that the sound of an infant’s cry has all four features of a perfect signal. First, a perfect signal is automatic. A newborn cries by reflex. The infant senses a need, which triggers a sudden inspiration of air followed by a forceful expelling of that air through vocal cords, which vibrate to produce the sound we call a cry. In the early months, the tiny infant does not think, “What kind of cry will get me fed?” He just automatically cries. Second, the cry is easily generated. Once his lungs are full of air, the infant can initiate crying with very little effort. Third, the cry is appropriately disturbing: ear-piercing enough to get the caregiver’s attention and make him or her try to stop the cry but not so disturbing as to make the listener want to avoid the sound altogether. Fourth, the cry can be modified as both the sender and the listener learn ways to make the signal more precise.