Now, there’s an application to help new parents figure out what their baby’s cry means. Are we getting too dependent on technology?

Apparently, this new app can distinguish the difference between a hungry baby and a tired baby who could use a nap, among other reasons to explain a baby crying. It’s true that for babies, crying is one of the main ways they can communicate their needs. Pediatrician and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Jamie Freishtat explains:

“Babies do cry; it’s their main form of communication. I know that anecdotally a lot of parents, after time, say, ‘Ah she must be wet,’ by a certain cry. I think pain [is something] parents tend to pick up on.”

There’s no doubt that part is real and true. As a parent, I concur. It did not take very long for me to hear the difference between my baby’s cry for food and her cry for sleep. Experts say that there are similarities in the way children cry depending on the need. Although babies, like adults, are individuals, so it doesn’t mean that they sound exactly alike when they are hungry.

The new app is based on the perceived patterns and not tone and pitch, as that varies with every baby. And, to the company’s credit, they do warn parents that the app is not meant to replace the need to understand their own baby and to seek out advice from doctors.

In our technology-crazed society, it seems ridiculous that people would hold up a phone to their crying baby and wait to see what the phone tells them about why their baby is crying. This seems to be a reflection of a couple of themes in our culture. First, we need answers fast — like now. When we become parents, it may happen in an instant but we’re in it for the long haul. We have time to study and learn about our children, we just need to pay attention. Turning to an app could make insecure parents (which is every first time parent!) dependent on technology instead of their own instincts.

Second, it reveals the lack of community of which families have traditionally been a part. One of the best ways to find out why your baby is doing what he or she is doing is by asking someone who has had babies. A family member friend who lives close by to ask or even come to see for herself is an extremely valuable asset. When that’s possible, it turns into a teaching moment that helps build the parent’s confidence to understand her child.

I understand the temptation for the quick answers. I have had many moments — and still have lots of moments — of looking for a quick answer to a parenting question. Sometimes it’s possible. However, most of the time it requires patience on my part to understand my baby or to seek out advice from another human being who has walked that road before me.

It’s been said that it takes a village to raise a child. It may be old fashioned, but I prefer a village to an iPhone to raise my children any day!

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(Original photo by memkode, used under Creative Commons license.)