In July 2010, ACS launched an educational campaign titled “Be Careful About Who Cares for Your Child,” urging New York parents to be cautious when leaving children with caregivers, even those who are relatives or close family friends.
The campaign was being launched in response to a significant number of recent child fatalities in which very young children and babies were allegedly killed by their fathers or by a companion of the child’s mother.
The campaign consisted of radio ads, posters and palm cards in English and Spanish. Flyers with child safety information from the campaign are also available in Arabic, Bengale, Chinese, Creole, French, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Urdu.
ACS's Lisette Matos spoke to NY1 Noticias about the ACS Caregiver Campaign (Spanish)
A Life to Love: Preventing Accidental Injury to Our Most Precious Resource
ACS has produced “A Life to Love,” a child safety video that educates parents and caregivers on preventing tragedies. ACS investigates more than 55,000 reports of alleged abuse and neglect each year and a number of these cases could be avoided simply through education and awareness. Through educating New Yorkers with “A Life to Love,” ACS aims to reduce high-risk situations and create safe environments for children.
When choosing a caregiver, parents should select someone who:
Has experience caring for babies and young children
Is patient and mature enough to care for a fussy, overexcited or crying baby
Understands that young children must always be watched
Will never shake, hit, yell at, make fun of, or withhold food from a child as punishment
Does not abuse alcohol or drugs, or carry a weapon, and will not surround a child with others who may be drinking, using or selling drugs, or carrying weapons.
There are warning signs of a potentially dangerous caregiver include someone who is:
Angry or severely impatient when children have tantrums, cry or misbehave
Violent and/or controlling with their partners
Physically or verbally abusive with children
An abuser of alcohol and drugs, including marijuana
Using prescription medications that have bad side effects or make them drowsy, or
Not trust worthy for any reason
No matter how angry or frustrated you feel when your baby or toddler cries, and no matter how much he or she cries, never shake your baby or toddler. Shaking can cause bleeding in the brain that can injure or even kill a child. It takes only a few seconds of shaking to seriously hurt a baby’s developing brain.
Never Shake Your Baby
Make sure he or she isn’t hungry, wet, cold or hot
Offer a pacifier
Walk around holding the baby close to you, in your arms or in a carrier. Talk or sing to him
Call a trusted friend, relative, or neighbor to talk to or ask someone to come over and keep you company
When all else fails, put your baby in the crib. Make sure she’s safe. Check in every five minutes or so. It is much better to let the baby cry than to do something that may be harmful to stop the crying