By Jamie Rogers
Morning News Reporter
Published: May 11, 2009
Child advocates are warning Pee Dee residents about a form of child abuse that may seem harmless to some but can cause the death and serious injury of children.
Violently shaking an infant or small child is a form of abuse known as Shaken Baby Syndrome, according to child advocates for Keeping Kids Safe at Home, a program of Prevent Child Abuse Pee Dee.
An infant to a 5-year-old child can be a victim of Shaken Baby Syndrome, said Erin McDaniel, whose child died as a result of the syndrome in 2007.
“Their brains aren’t formed enough to fill up the area (inside their skull) and so the brain hits the skull when you shake them,” she said. “The first minute they have been shaken, their brain hits their skull more than 100 times. It literally takes 60 seconds to kill a child.”
The result of that impact is bruising, bleeding and swelling of the brain.
Child advocates say caregivers or parents shake babies because they have lost self-control and have become frustrated or angry about the child’s behavior or constant crying. It can take as little as 10 second to harm a child by shaking him, McDaniel said.
Because babies have weak neck muscles, large head and soft brains, even shaking a baby for a few seconds can cause substantial injury, according to Prevent Child Abuse Pee Dee.
“Just to shake them very briefly to the point where someone says, ‘Please just shut up’ and just shake them very vigorously, it can give them cerebral palsy. They can be deaf, blind, never speak or never walk,” McDaniel said. “It can cause any type of learning disability It can cause a lot of problems.”
Child advocates say about 75 percent of Shaken Baby Syndrome victims suffer traumatic injuries that need 24-hour-care. The remaining 25 percent of victims die, according to Prevent Child Abuse data.
McDaniel’s son David Zachery is among that 25 percent. Authorities said the 3-month-old’s nanny, Steven Austin Joye, shook him violently, then left him unattended for hours, ultimately causing his death in February 2007. Joye was convicted of homicide by child abuse and unlawful neglect of a child or helpless person by a legal custodian one year after Zachery’s death.
McDaniel said anyone can harm a child by shaking him but, statistically, young men like Joye who are between the ages of 17-21 are more likely to shake babies.
Parents should instruct their child’s nanny or caregiver to lay the child down if they become frustrated, McDaniel said.
“They should call the parent and let them know the child is too fussy to be dealt with that day and that they need a break,” she said. “That something I always said I wish Steven would have done, just picked up the phone.”
If a parent finds themselves becoming frustrated by a child’s incessant crying, they should walk away from the situation and get help, McDaniel said.
“If a baby is fussy, then lay them down,” she said. “That’s what a baby has lungs for, to cry.”
Caregivers can also try bathing a child, offering him a pacifier or speaking and singing softly to calm him. Rocking or dancing with a child as well as wrapping him in a blanket and gently tapping his back also can quiet a child.
If all else fails, the caregiver can call someone they trust to watch the child until composure can be regained.
Caregivers can also call the 24-hour ChildHelp Pee Dee line at (866) 867-9857. A telephone counselor is available to talk about the situation and find a solution.
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