PARSIPPANY — Volunteers and friends of Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany participated in “Click Your Knitting Needs Together, To Prevent Infant Abuse.”
They knitted and crocheted caps that are given to baby boys and girls in November and December to help educate parents about the “Period of Purple Crying,” a normal, but frustrating period of increased crying all infants experience in the first few weeks and months after birth.
The PURPLE program is designed to help parents of new babies understand a developmental stage that is not widely known. It provides education on the normal crying curve and the dangers of shaking a baby.
Additionally the program tries to create a cultural change in how parents, caregivers, and everyone in the community understand the normalcy of this early infant crying and the dangers of reacting to an infant’s crying in frustration. The program is based on over 50 years of scientific research on infant crying, the connection between the crying curve and the incidence of SBS. It has undergone extensive evaluation with randomized controlled trials with 4400 participants and 32 parent focus groups. Therefore, in order to achieve consistent results, the program is delivered using a very specific protocol.
Prevent Child Abuse – New Jersey is the New Jersey Chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America, a network of chapters in all 50 states. Our mission is to prevent child abuse and neglect, in all forms, for all New Jersey children. Prevent Child Abuse-New Jersey is the only statewide non-profit dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect in all forms, for all New Jersey children.
Why PURPLE?
The acronym PURPLE is used to describe specific characteristics of an infant’s crying during this phase and let parents and caregivers know that what they are experiencing is indeed normal and, although frustrating, is simply a phase in their child’s development that will pass. The word Period is important because it tells parents that it is only temporary and will come to an end!
Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany meets on Thursday morning at 7:15 a.m. at Empire Diner, 1315 Route 46. For more information, click here.
