Father and mother are well known for their crying children

The ability to recognize your baby's cries in men or women depends on the experience of playing with your child, not on your instincts.

"In the past, many people thought a mother could recognize her crying better than her father," said Nicolas Mathevon, a researcher at France's Jean Monnet University. "But in fact, fathers can do it as well as mothers. The problem is just learning."

In order to draw this conclusion, Mathevon's team recorded the crying baby in two different places, France and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They asked 27 fathers and 29 mothers to find the cry of their children, among four other children.

On average, couples can recognize their children's cries about 90 percent of the time.

The team found that men could choose the cry of a son as well as a woman, if they spent at least four hours a day with their child. Fathers who spend less time with me give worse results. This discrimination skill is not affected by the cultural tradition or gender of the child.

In subsequent studies, Mathevon intends to understand the difference between men and women in recognizing the specific needs of the baby's crying, such as hunger or discomfort.