5.5 mo old screeching??--is this normal and what's the cause?

[Anonymous]

My 5.5 mo old has started making a high-pitched screeching/shrieking noise. He doesn't seem upset when he's doing it, and it doesn't matter if he's being held or in the bumbo, etc. This just started recently, which has coincided with his being in daycare full-time. Part of me says he is doing this to get attention because he is being neglected during the day, but maybe it's just normal and he's discovering his vocal cords?

[Anonymous]

I think it's just experimentation. My 2nd (DS) did this at around that age. It didn't last too long, but boy it was hard to take sometimes!

[Anonymous]

It's normal. They discover/experiment with their voice around that age.

What makes you think he's being neglected during the day?

[Anonymous]

Normal and I don't think it has anything to do with daycare, we used to call ours "baby teakettle" at that age. If you have concerns about the daycare or him not getting enough attention during the day that is a different issue.

[hedgehog]

Normal. We refer to it as the Howler monkey phase.

[Anonymous]

Normal and our 3 year old still does it.

[Anonymous]

hedgehog wrote:Normal. We refer to it as the Howler monkey phase.

Ha! In our family we went with "Screech Owl" - but I really like Howler Monkey!

(Agree - normal - but you may want to casually ignore it rather than respond, so you don't inadvertently teach baby that screeching is the most reliable way to capture your attention. Respond more to the pleasant vocalizations!)

[Anonymous]

totally normal. i SAH and DC does it mostly in the car.

it kills me. DC is doing it right now as I type. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

LOL

[Anonymous]

Phase. They are constantly trying out new sounds. Ours will try one sound for a week or two, and then start in on something else. I'm always hoping the annoying ones don't come up in the rotation during long car rides and flights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

hedgehog wrote:Normal. We refer to it as the Howler monkey phase.

Ha! In our family we went with "Screech Owl" - but I really like Howler Monkey!

(Agree - normal - but you may want to casually ignore it rather than respond, so you don't inadvertently teach baby that screeching is the most reliable way to capture your attention. Respond more to the pleasant vocalizations!)

We call it the pterodactyl.