Abstract
Leaving home to attend a day care centre can be a major transition in a baby's life. Based on ethnographic research in a Brazilian day care centre with 21 babies between 4 and 11 months of age, this study demonstrates that crying is a crucial communication resource used in co-presence with peers. Furthermore, crying constitutes a form of cooperative action in interactions among babies within a peer group who cannot yet speak. Analysis of three interactive episodes involving babies of different ages demonstrated that crying is related to mutual monitoring and morality. The paper contributes to research in anthropology, a field that often mistakenly associates language with culture, and traditionally has little interest in babies.
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