PARSIPPANY — Volunteers and friends of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany recently participated in the “Shaken Baby Syndrome Purple Hat Project.” They knitted and crocheted caps for baby boys and girls to help educate parents about the “Period of PURPLE Crying,” an average 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 this developmental stage, which is not widely known. It provides education on the normal crying curve and the dangers of shaking a baby. Additionally, the program aims to create a cultural change in how parents, caregivers, and the community understand the normalcy of early infant crying and the dangers of reacting to an infant’s crying in frustration.
Based on over 50 years of scientific research on infant crying, the connection between the crying curve, and the incidence of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS), the PURPLE program has undergone extensive evaluation, including randomized controlled trials with 4,400 participants and 32 parent-focus groups. To achieve consistent results, the program is delivered using a particular protocol.
Prevent Child Abuse – New Jersey, the New Jersey Chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America, is dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect in all forms for all New Jersey children. It is the only statewide non-profit committed to this mission.
Why PURPLE?
The acronym PURPLE describes specific characteristics of an infant’s crying during this phase, letting parents and caregivers know that what they are experiencing is normal and, although frustrating, is a phase in their child’s development that will pass. The word “Period” is important because it tells parents that this phase is temporary and will come to an end.
The Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany meets on Thursday mornings at 7:15 a.m. at IHOP, 792 Route 46, except the first Thursday when they meet at 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.parsippanykiwanis.org.
