Hailey's 2-year-old nephew touches his index finger to the pan she just took out of the oven. he pulls his finger away quickly, but doesn't cry until a few seconds later. why does it take longer for him to cry than to pull his finger away?

The answer is "The hand-withdrawal reflex involves only the spinal cord, but the pain message has to reach the brain".
Reflex refers to an exceptional capacity that advancement skilled us to encourage our survival. At whatever point some portion of your body interacts with a object capable for causing you hurt, you have a tendency to rapidly pull back that piece of the body. This occurs before your brain gets the time it needs to process the risk. In the event that you unintentionally touch a hot pot on your stove while cooking, you would automatically grab your hand far from the pot. This reaction is known as a 'reflex action'.

Read your textbook to answer that question