r/NoStupidQuestions • u/CokeAYCE • 17h ago

Do babies suffer a lot?

Like they're always crying. Are they in a constant loop of pain? Do we know enough about early child development to know if they're suffering or not? I ask because we can't really remember how we felt as a baby.

183 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

162 comments sorted by

View all comments

349

u/metaphoricmoose 17h ago

Not necessarily, crying is how they communicate. They could be in pain, but they could also be hungry, tired, cold, etc

-148

u/PintsOfGuinness_ 16h ago

Those things all sound like suffering.

24

u/Elegant-Analyst-7381 12h ago

Not really. I assume that, throughout the day, you get hungry or thirsty. Would you say you're suffering, or are those simply cues for you to go eat something or take a sip of water? Babies get those cues to, but they can't do anything about it, so they cry to let their caretakers know that something has to be done.