When a Mom Reports Dad Mocking the Baby's Cries: What It Means and What to Do With It

She may not have the words to explain why it scares her. She just knows it does. When a mother tells you that dad mocks the baby when it cries — mimicking it, laughing at it, getting in the infant's face — she's reporting more than a parenting style. She's describing a caregiver who sees a crying infant not as a child in need, but as an adversary. Here's what the research says about that pattern, and what patrol officers can do with it on scene.