Did anyone catch this Oprah awhile back? The one with the woman who said she can interpret what infants are saying just by the tone and sound of their cry? I hadn’t seen it on its first run but I was curious about it. I’m not really an Oprah-watcher but I was intrigued enough to Tivo it on its second run.
The premise: An Australian woman, Priscilla Dunstan, believes she has a special connection with sound. On Oprah she explained that she can hear all sorts of things we don’t normally associate with sound (sickness, messages within babies sounds). Because of this special ability she has, once she had her own child, she was able to distinguish a difference in his cries and to interpret them.
When I first heard about this, I was definitely skeptical. Basically these are the basic cries and how they can be interpreted, according to Dunstan Baby:
- Neh=”I’m hungry”
- Owh=”I’m sleepy”
- Heh=”I’m experiencing discomfort”
- Eair=”I have lower gas”
- Eh=”I need to burp”
And according to the DVD, these are best heard in the first three months of life. (After that, babies start to learn and develop language from what you are saying and what they are hearing around them.)
So Cole’s 3.5 months old now but I started hearing about this when he was a little over a month. I have to say, I was definitely able to distinguish the “neh” hungry sound. It’s actually pretty amazing when you watch her video and she has footage of all the babies making the same sound. Internationally, she showed a pattern of sounds no matter what the nationality of the baby (or language of the parents).
Anyway, I thought the concept was really cool and worth a mention. I never was able to distinguish anything other than “neh,” although my husband says he was definitely able to tell the “owh” and “eh” sounds. So I don’t really know what to make of this. But if you’re curious, you can order it here – it’s $59.95 for the 2-DVD set.
Speak Your Mind