A cry room, crying room, or infant care room
is a space designed for people to take
babies
In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to juveniles of ...
or small children for privacy or to reduce disturbance of others. Started in the 1950s, they are usually found in churches,
theatres
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communica ...
, and cinemas.
Cry rooms are often designed with
soundproofing
Soundproofing is any means of impeding sound propagation. There are several methods employed including increasing the distance between the source and receiver, decoupling, using noise barriers to reflect or absorb the energy of the sound waves, ...
properties to dampen the sounds made within. Many are equipped with a speaker system to allow the occupants to continue listening to the presentation in the main space, be it a
church service
A church service (or a worship service) is a formalized period of Christian communal Christian worship, worship, often held in a Church (building), church building. Most Christian denominations hold church services on the Lord's Day (offering Su ...
or performance in a theatre.
Some churches have cry rooms for when a child becomes "out of control, disruptive enough to distract people, or makes it hard for others to hear or contemplate".
Cry rooms are used in theatres and cinemas to allow a child to be taken out of the main auditorium while still allowing the accompanying adult to watch the performance.
There are hardly any cry rooms anymore, particularly in cinemas, which is mainly due to the rise of
multiplex theaters beginning in the 1970s.
See also
*
Infant crying
References
Church architecture
Infancy
Rooms
Child care
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