Training Resources

Department of Defense

DoD Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) Prevention Initiative Toolkit

The Toolkit was disseminated to installations worldwide in 2007 and contains valuable educational resources for Service providers working with parents of infants in Family Advocacy Programs, Military Treatment Facilities, and National Guard state family programs.  The materials are designed to help parents cope with the stress of an infant and inform them of the dangers of shaking.  Program materials include:

• An SBS toolkit developed by the National Center on SBS, which contains a training curriculum designed for military fathers of infants and other educational resources for parents and caregivers.
• Educational DVDs, including Portrait of Promise and Have a Plan. The DVDs may be used to prompt discussion regarding strategies parents can use to manage the stress of a crying infant and to educate them about Shaken Baby Syndrome.  A sample parent commitment statement and sample script are available to providers using the Portrait of Promise DVD with new parents.
• A public service announcement (PSA) airing on Armed Forces Radio and Television Service channels throughout DoD.  Windows Media Player is required to view the PSA.

Safe Sleep Campaign 2011

A Safe Sleep For All Babies
This education effort is part of U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC's) Safe Sleep Initiative, a multi-pronged effort aimed at reducing deaths and injuries associated with unsafe sleep environments. In addition to this education effort, CPSC's Safe Sleep Initiative includes the development of new crib standards, warnings about drop-side cribs, sleep positioners, and infant slings, and the recall of millions of cribs in the past five years.  The video (transcript) demonstrates how to keep babies safe and sound in cribs, bassinets and play yards.

Safe Infant Sleep Basics Podcast   
This podcast provides some easy to follow guidelines from medical experts to help ensure safe sleep. The goal of these guidelines is simple:  to decrease your child's risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.  Listen to the podcast or download the transcript.

Promotional Guidance
These resources provide ideas for sharing life-saving safe sleep information with new and expectant parents, and for partnering with other community members to promote safe sleep practices.  They can be used to augment existing tools, offering quick and easy access to professionally vetted information to support service providers’ work with new and expectant parents.

• Child Development Program Staff
• Medical Personnel, including nurses, family physicians, obstetricians, and pediatricians
• New Parent Support Program Home Visitors
• Family Program Service Providers, including counselors, relocation managers, Military and Family Life Counselors, and Joint Family Support Assistance Program team members
• Family Readiness Representatives, including family readiness officers, key spouses, ombudsmen, and family readiness group leaders

Online Resources

Adventures in Parenting This is an online booklet for parents from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.  The booklet focuses on how to become a more successful parent by properly responding to a child, preventing risky behavior, monitoring a child's contact with the outside world, appropriate mentoring, and modeling proper behavior.

ZERO TO THREE This is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to "promote the healthy development of our nation's infants and toddlers."  The website provides a substantial amount of research-based, practical information on a number of topics.  The site is arranged in sections for "Parents" and for "Professionals" and includes a topical listing under "Parenting A-Z," journal articles, and "Tips of the Week." The most recent addition to the site is a section for military families that includes articles and resources for military families with very young children. This content is updated monthly.