Free Helpline for Parents' Questions

As you may be aware, April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. The statistics on child abuse are alarming:

• One in 50 infants in the United States has been neglected or abused.
• Nearly one third of all children in out-of-home care due to abuse and/or neglect in Arizona are under age five.
• In 2006, nearly 50 Arizona children under age four died from maltreatment – of those, nine from shaken baby syndrome. Crying was proven to be the trigger for five of the shaken baby fatalities.
• Educating parents and caregivers about child development – leading to more realistic expectations – can help reduce child abuse and neglect.
• Fostering positive parent-child relationships can also help reduce abuse and neglect.

As the largest provider of services for young children and families across the state, Southwest Human Development’s Arizona Institute for Early Childhood Development is leading the charge against child abuse each and every day.

As one of three areas of focus, the Institute for Early Childhood Development’s Birth to Five Helpline is a toll-free resource for parents and families to receive individualized early childhood development information for their infants, toddlers and preschoolers and even home visitation services in Maricopa County. The line can serve as an outlet for frustrated caregivers who may not know where to turn.

Staffed by early childhood development specialists, registered nurses, disabilities specialists, early literacy specialists and mental health counselors, the Helpline covers a wide range of topics, including:
• Health
• Child development
• Nutrition
• Sleep
• Discipline
• Colic (inconsolable crying)
• Getting ready for school
• Safety

Additionally, the Institute recently introduced the Fussy Baby Program as an extension of the Birth to Five Helpline. The program, an affiliate of Chicago’s Erickson Institute, provides support to callers with babies who cry excessively to help them manage frustrations without resorting to anger or violence.

All parents are encouraged to call the Helpline for answers to any of their early childhood development questions. The call is free and takes as long as parents’ would like to talk.

Pick up the phone when you need help this month, and in the future. Call 1-877-705-KIDS.

-Dr. Alison Steier

Dr. Lorenzo Azzi is a clinical psychologist at The Arizona Institute for Early Childhood Development