Communicating with Little Children

Abstract

T HE infant who has no spoken words to tell his nurse how he feels and what he wants can still communicate with her through his cry and his behavior. And the nurse who has real affection for the infant usually interprets his needs intuitively. She senses how he feels and is quick to detect the first manifestations of illness. She can usually differentiate the hunger cry from the cry that asks for love or demands attention. However, unless the nurse realizes how her own feelings and behavior affect the infant's actions, she can misinterpret his nonverbal communication. In the early months of the infant's life the way the nurse smiles, her gentleness, her tone of voice, and the attention and love she bestows upon him will give satisfaction and develop his trust in people. Most of the time a baby's cry is not caused by a serious discomfort, yet it is important for the nurse to respond to every cry for help. Anxiety and tension accumulate in the infant when his cry goes unanswered, and this can be detrimental to his emotional health. To determine what the baby wants when he cries, the nurse needs to learn what behavior to expect as her patient grows. Then she can try to satisfy his needs at his age level and, through a process of elimination, arrive at the thing that will quiet him.