The three reasons why Charlie is crying

A dad who has been chronicling online the myriad reasons for his young son’s crying has struck a chord with parents everywhere.

In a Tumblr blog called Reasons My Son Is Crying, Greg Pembroke shares photos of his son Charlie with captions that explain what set off a crying stint, such as “I wouldn’t let him eat mud” and “he asked me to put butter on his rice. I put butter on his rice.”

While the reasons for a toddler’s tears may sometimes seem to a mystery to all but them, experts say there are three basic motivations for the behaviour. Crying episodes are usually triggered when a tot craves attention, wants something, or would like to escape a demand, says Michael Potegal, a behavioural neuroscientist at the University of Minnesota Medical School.