You knew your baby would cry. But, did you know how
frustrating that crying could be when you have tried
everything to comfort your baby, and
she just keeps crying? Dealing with a crying baby
can be very hard, and parents
often don't realize just how
frustrating it is until they are in a stressful
situation. No one thinks they will shake their infant,
but research shows crying as the number one trigger
leading caregivers to violently shake and injure babies.
The website below offers a lot of information, ideas and
gives answers for parents and caregivers who are
struggling to cope with a crying baby.
Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is the collection of signs
and symptoms resulting from the violent shaking of an
infant or small child. It is a form of child abuse. In
America every year an estimated 1,200 - 1,400 children
are shaken for whom treatment is sought. Of these tiny
victims, 25 -30% die as a result of their injuries. The
rest will have lifelong complications. It is likely that
many more babies suffer from the effects of SBS yet no
one knows because SBS victims rarely have any external
evidence of trauma
But, no matter how frustrated you get...
NEVER SHAKE A BABY!!
Printed in part from the National Center on Shaken Baby
Syndrome's Website
For more information, visit the National Center on
Shaken Baby Syndrome's website http://www.dontshake.com
Below you will find some great sources of information that we
have compiled for you.
Have
Fun!
Below you will find some developmental
activities that you can do with your child to
help them "get ready." Just click on the
age group that your child fits into and Have
Fun!
These great PDF publications are provided by
Child Resource. You
may visit their website by
clicking
HERE.
Magic
Moments...
Take the Brain Quiz
The Brain Quiz was created by
Zero to Three
to introduce some of the basic concepts
concerning early brain research in a way that
challenges us to think critically and creatively
about what we have heard about the research.
Test yourself to see what facts and
misinformation you have heard concerning infants
and brain development.
gain ideas for how to use simple, everyday
moments to promote your child's social,
emotional, and intellectual development. To view
a booklet simply click on an age group to
view it in PDF format.
To Visit Johnson & Johnson Pediatric
Institute's Site, please click HERE.
Play is to kids what brainstorming
is
to
grown-ups.
All creative adults
play.
Play is to create, to
discover, to experiment
Play is to recreate the world and be
able
to
change it.
Play is to master our bodies.
Play is to adventure into nature and
science and
find answers to questions.
To read the entire article by
Renee Farrington, click
HERE.
How Does My
Baby's Brain
Develop?
The
First Month - As a baby's senses react to
his or her environment, he or she develops new
synaptic connections at the phenomenal rate of
up to three billion a second (Kotulak, 1996).
Everything that a baby experiences is absorbed
by the brain and stored in its memory cells.
The
First Six Months - Babies will babble using
the sounds in all of the languages in the world.
A child, however, will learn to talk using only
the sounds and words he or she picks up from his
or her environment. A child will discard the
ability to speak in languages he or she does not
hear.
Eight
Months - A baby's brain has about 1,000
trillion connections. After that, the number of
connections begins to decline-unless the child
is exposed to stimulation through all his or her
senses.
Around
Age 10 - About half the connections have
died off in the average child. Five hundred
trillion will last throughout an individual's
lifetime.
The
Brain's Developmental Stages (Dryden & Vos,
1997)
"Invest in the future; have a child and teach
her well."
~ Unknown
