What is Click for Babies?
Click for Babies is a grassroots initiative to collaborate with knitters and crocheters across North American to make PURPLE caps for babies.
The initiative is being organized by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (NCSBS) in partnership with invited organizations in an effort to prevent infant abuse, namely Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma and educate caregivers about the Period of PURPLE Crying.
What is the Period of PURPLE Crying?
The Period of PURPLE Crying is an evidence-based infant abuse prevention program developed by the NCSBS and Dr. Ronald G. Barr MDCM to educate parents about normal infant crying and its relation as a trigger for abuse.
All babies go through a period of increased crying which typically begins around two weeks of age, peaks in the second month and comes to an end around the third or fourth month of life.
Despite a parent or caregivers best efforts to soothe a crying infant, the infant may still continue to cry and that is okay. It is normal to be frustrated with the crying, however, frustration with this period of increased crying is the number one reason someone shakes and/or injures an infant.
This mostly happens because parents and caregiver do not understand this crying to be normal and don't take the time to put the infant down in a safe place and walk away for a while.
While this increased crying may be normal, parents and caregivers are strongly encouraged to always have an infant examined by a health care professional to ensure there is nothing contributing to the crying (pain, illness, disease).
Despite a parent or caregivers best efforts to soothe a crying infant, the infant may still continue to cry and that is okay. It is normal to be frustrated with the crying, however, frustration with this period of increased crying is the number one reason someone shakes and/or injures an infant.
This mostly happens because parents and caregiver do not understand this crying to be normal and don't take the time to put the infant down in a safe place and walk away for a while.
While this increased crying may be normal, parents and caregivers are strongly encouraged to always have an infant examined by a health care professional to ensure there is nothing contributing to the crying (pain, illness, disease).
What is Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma?
Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma (SBS/AHT) is a devastating form of abuse that happens when a person violently shakes an infant with or without impact.
Thousands of infants are injured and killed every year from being shaken. Approximately 75-80 percent of infants who are shaken suffer permanent brain injuries and upwards of 30 percent of infants die as a result of their injuries.
