Dont shake the baby!

WASILLA - If you put an egg in a plastic container, how hard do you have to shake it before the egg breaks? Will the egg break if dropped from a couch or table, while inside the container?

These are some of the hands-on questions Wasilla Rotary Club members have been asking area sixth-graders through their Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Project. The volunteer organization has been working in conjunction with The Childrens Place in Wasilla to help educate children of babysitting age about the dangers of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS).

According to Vivian Finley, the 1999 Wasilla Rotary president, using a fragile egg in a Tupperware container represents fairly well how deliberate ones actions must be to cause SBS.

Finley explained that many people accused of shaking an infant say the child simply fell from a table or couch. When an egg in a plastic container is dropped from a table or couch level, however, she said the egg does not break. Similarly, an infants brain is most often not damaged by such a fall.

In contrast, she said, it only takes two or three repeated, deliberate shakes of the plastic container before the egg is completely scrambled. An infant can receive serious, irreparable brain damage in just the same short time, she said.

Finley and other Rotarians have presented their SBS Prevention curriculum to around 490 students in the Valley, and hope to cover more before school lets out this spring. She said sixth-graders are the clubs target audience, simply because that age is when many children start babysitting.

The curriculum taught to the students includes information about how SBS occurs, but also teaches the potential babysitters what to do if an infant cries continually.

According to information provided by the Brain Injury Association, inconsolable crying is the No. 1 cause of SBS. The curriculum teaches the children to manage their frustration before they take it out on the upset child.

Margaret Volz, program director of The Childrens Place, estimated there were three deaths in as many years from SBS, and one case of a child being severely disabled. She stressed, however, that these were only the deaths and disabilities reported as being from SBS, and there were likely more.

Were not talking about huge numbers, Finley said, but we are talking about something thats entirely preventable through education.

Finley said their response from the students has been very positive.

Theyre sort of wide-eyed about it, she said. They do seem quite surprised that there heads are so vulnerable. In a class that I did, one child said his own sister had been killed from being shaken.

Teachers, she said, have been impressed with how well the presentation has held the attention of the middle-schoolers. Finley said the class includes a video, visual aides and a booklet that students can use to follow along, so it makes the course entertaining to students. At the end of the class, students are presented with certificates that show they attended the class.

The class is not a substitute for a babysitting class, which they encourage interested students to take. It does deliver the information to students and potential parents who may not take a babysitting course.

Finley said Volz has contacted all of the schools in the area and let them know the service is available. Many have requested that the Rotarians visit, and some teachers have requested the curriculum for their own classroom use in subsequent years. For interested teachers, the club provides copies of the curriculum for free.

The club would like to branch out to community groups, such as Boy and Girl Scouts in the area.

Anyone wanting more information about the SBS Prevention Project may call Margaret Volz at 357-5157 or Vivian Finley at 376-3214.

Facts courtesy of the Brain Injury Association Inc.