Why does my baby cry when another baby cries?

Your baby’s response to another baby’s cry may or may not show that they are feeling concerned for them, but it does show that your baby is aware of those around them.  

Is your baby feeling empathy?

Empathy involves sharing emotions, being concerned and taking another perspective.^[1] Your baby will won't yet understand that other people think differently, so developing empathy will take a long time and lots of experience.  

However, your baby is capable of sharing emotions. Babies respond to their mother’s emotional state when in the womb and will have been responding to interactions with the people caring for them since they were born.^[1]  

Their response to crying is linked to how they feel

You might notice your baby will cry when they hear another baby cry. Researchers suggest different reasons for this response. It could be that this is an early sign of empathy, so they are sharing the emotion felt by the other baby or they find the sound of a baby crying distressing, so their response is linked to their own feelings.^[1]  

What is clear is that as your baby develops, they will become more aware of how other people feel and, when they are older, they will seek to comfort others when they are upset. When you respond to your baby’s emotions, you help them to develop the skills they need to understand and regulate their emotions as they grow. 

Reference:

[1] Addyman, C. (2020) The laughing baby: The extraordinary science behind what makes babies happy.  London: Unbound.