Why do human babies cry so much as opposed to chimpanzee or gorilla babies?

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I’m watching a documentary and noticed how chill great ape babies are. They’re quite content just holding onto their mom, and you never see them crying in the same shrill, oftentimes excessive way human babies do.

Swaddled wrong? Cry. Gassy? Cry. Hungry? Cry. Too full? Throw up, then cry.

What gives?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

All of the ancestors of the crying baby were effective at getting their parents attention with prompt crying. Demanding baby and neurotic 24 hour focused parenting mean otherwise helpless baby survives.

Being loud isn’t a drawback for modern humans because almost no predator will deliberately pick a fight with a group of awake humans. So with the helplessness of the baby, it’s far outweighed by getting attention.

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