Perhaps but striking the child could also cause a fresh round of crying. We call this in the South “I’ll give you something to cry about”.
I’m guessing this was a baby and nothing was going to stop the crying. Babies learn very early how to get attention but it could be general discomfort. Something like “I am about to drop last night’s collards and cornbread into my diaper”.
“We call this in the South ‘I’ll give you something to cry about’.”
Dad wasn’t from the south, but that was his go-to line when he meant “STFU”.