What We're Doing to Prevent Child Abuse and How You Can Help

Child abuse is one of the leading causes of trauma death for young children in Colorado and nation-wide. Many of the youngest victims of child abuse exhibit signs of shaken baby syndrome (SBS), a serious brain injury that occurs when an infant or toddler is violently shaken.

The Children's Hospital is committed to educating people about SBS, which can cause severe brain damage, blindness, learning problems, seizure disorders, cerebral palsy, paralysis and even death in infants and children.  Although devastating to think about, there are opportunities to prevent this from happening through education and awareness.

In our efforts to create awareness of SBS, we have partnered with Kohl's Department Stores and The Kempe Center to create the Kohl’s Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Campaign .The campaign is designed to educate the community about the dangers of shaking a baby, offer solutions for how to calm a crying baby and help caregivers manage the frustrations they may experience when caring for a fussy baby.

Children’s also has an ongoing partnership with The Kempe Center, which allows us to collaborate in raising awareness and supporting activities that help to prevent abuse and neglect. 

Children's Way is decorated with blue lights

and ribbons for the month of April, as blue

symbolizes abuse prevention.

April marks child abuse prevention month

Preventing child abuse is a cause that Children’s supports all year long, however we are giving extra attention to the topic during the month of April. To mark the beginning of Child Abuse Prevention Month, Children's held a lighting ceremony on Tuesday, March 31. The color blue symbolizes child abuse prevention, so you will see blue lights and ribbons lining Children's Way during the entire month of April. 

What you can do to help prevent abuse of children

We all have a role to play in keeping children safe from harm. Here are some ideas of ways you can help:

• Wear a blue ribbon to raise awareness.
• Learn more about local prevention efforts.  One of the most deadly forms of child abuse is Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS). If you are interested in learning more about our SBS prevention efforts, how we are making an impact, and what you can do to help, please join us for our advocacy lunch & learn session on this topic, which will be held on April 13 from 12pm - 1pm at The Children's Hospital. To register, visit: www.thechildrenshospital.org/advocacy and click on "Advocacy Events."
• Visit the resource table in The Children's Hospital atrium the weeks of April 6 and 27. Stop by to learn more about how you can help or gather information to share with others.
• Be a friend.  Look for opportunities to reach out to parents and caregivers who are under stress or need a helping hand.  If you aren't sure where to start, visit www.kempe.org for ideas on volunteering and getting involved.
• Spread the word. Education is the key to prevention.