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The Period of PURPLE Crying program provides education and resources to new parents and caregivers about the period of increased infant crying (PURPLE crying) that all babies go through in their first few months.

Training and access to materials to support your practice is free and available to all providers in BC.

Female Paediatrician visiting newborn baby at home during Lockdown.

The Period of PURPLE Crying® (PURPLE) training was developed by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (NCSBS). Based on over 30 years of research, these courses provide information on the Period of PURPLE Crying program and the tools you need to successfully implement the program within your community. Thanks to provincial funding, training is free for all organizations that deliver PURPLE in BC.

Period of PURPLE Crying® Training for BC Providers

This course will educate and prepare providers to deliver PURPLE education and materials to parents. This course is required for all health and community service providers that deliver PURPLE in BC. 
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If you are a maternity, public health or primary care nurse in BC you can access this training directly through your LearningHub account. Visit the PHSA Learning Hub and search for “PURPLE crying” or you can access on the NCSBS training.dontshake.ca

Childcare Providers Intro to SBS/AHT

This narrated training instructs child care providers and educators about the latest information on Traumatic Head Injury - Child Maltreatment/Shaken Baby Syndrome (THI-CM/SBS). A 1-hour professional development certificate can be issued upon completion. Contact us directly for registration.

Period of PURPLE Crying Training for Foster and Adoptive Parents

This training is designed to train foster and adoptive parents on PURPLE Crying and provide information on THI-CM/SBS. To register access directly on the NCSBS training website.

How to Register

How to Register

Map showing Children's Virtual Care Locations in British Columbia (2018)

If you are a BC maternity, public health, community or primary care nurse, or you work for one of the health authorities you can access Period of PURPLE Crying® Training for BC Providers when logged into your account on the LearningHub. Visit the PHSA Learning Hub and search for “PURPLE crying.” 

Learning Hub
Note

The NCSBS operates PURPLE as a fee-based program per use. If you are accessing a course, other than Period of PURPLE Crying® Training for BC Providers, on the NCSBS website there are several steps and linked downloads that are not relevant. All program implementation requirements are handled by PSBSBC. Individuals, hospitals, and organizations in BC are not required to undertake purchasing, sign agreements or pay for materials. Any questions reach out to us.

Any BC-based individual who has completed PURPLE training can order materials for their organization for free. Fill out our order form.

Map showing Children's Virtual Care Locations in British Columbia (2018)

All PURPLE training training can be accessed directly through the NCSBS PURPLE training website at https://training.dontshake.org/courses. Select the course you want to take. If you are new to the site, you will be prompted for account setup. If you are returning to the site, you can login into your account on the left hand side of the page. All courses on the training.dontshake.org website run best on Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, as it is not optimized for Safari. If you need more information on navigating this website, please view our trouble shooting guide.

NCSBS training

Educating parents about PURPLE Crying

You may be interacting with a parent/caregiver who has never heard of PURPLE crying. How these conversations are had with parents/caregivers is up to you and your team, but should include the following talking points.

Talking Points

Remember to discuss the following points with parents and caregivers.

1. Review the Period of PURPLE Crying acronym
2. Early increased crying is normal.
3. PURPLE crying is a temporary period of time. It will come to an end.
4. Feeling overwhelmed and frustrated is normal.
5. Reassure new parents/caregivers that if they are still worried, they can connect with a health professional or phone HealthLinkBC at 8-1-1 to talk to a nurse.
6. Crying is the biggest trigger for shaking.
7. Shaking a baby is dangerous
8. Share this information with others.
9. Encourage parents/caregivers to review the PURPLE materials. 
Remember: You are the expert in your own practice. Feel free to expand on certain points and tailor your conversation depending on the needs of the individual.

Talking Points

Remember to discuss the following points with parents and caregivers.

1. Review the Period of PURPLE Crying acronym.
Image showing the Period of Purple Crying acronym
2. Early increased crying is normal.
Graph showing the curves o f early infant crying

Infant crying is a part of normal child development and it is the way babies communicate. Crying usually starts to increase when babies are around two weeks of age, peaks in the second month and decreases after that. Some healthy babies can cry as much as five or six hours a day, This is still normal. 

3. PURPLE crying is a temporary period of time. It will come to an end.
4. Feeling overwhelmed and frustrated is normal.

Comforting baby may work some of the time but not all of the time. If they feeling overwhelmed it’s OK to put baby down and take a break.

Carry, comfort, walk and talk with the infant

This encourages caregivers to increase contact with their infant, reduce some of the fussing and attend to their infant’s needs.

1
It is okay to walk away

The infant may be put in a safe place so that the caregiver can take a few minutes to calm down and then go back and check on the infant again.

2
Never shake or hurt an infant

There is never a circumstance when it is okay to shake or hurt an infant, no matter how much they’re crying.

3
6. Reassure new parents/caregivers if they are still worried, they can connect with a health professional or phone HealthLinkBC at 8-1-1 to talk to a nurse.
6. Crying is the biggest trigger for shaking.

Shaking is rarely planned, but increased crying can lead to a parent or caregiver acting out in frustration. Shaking can result in death or significant long-term neurological and developmental disability.

7. Shaking a Baby is dangerous.

Shaking is rarely planned, but increased crying can lead to a parent or caregiver acting out in frustration. Shaking can result in death or significant long-term neurological and developmental disability. Learn More

Illustration showing a baby being shaken
8. Share this information with others. 

Parents/caregivers should tell anybody who takes care of the baby (including grandparents, aunties, nanny, etc.) about PURPLE crying and the Important Action Steps. Remind them that it may feel awkward to have these conversations especially with elders, but not everyone knows about PURPLE crying. Talking about increased infant crying prepares  everyone who watches their baby..

9. Encourage parents to review the PURPLE materials. 
  • Highlight the PURPLE Booklet 
  • Remind them to download PURPLE Crying App from Apple Store or Google Play to watch crying, soothing, coping videos. The activation code can be used to set up one account, and that account information can be shared with others for up to five different devices. For more information HYPERLINK FAQ for Provider The Period of PURPLE Crying Mobile App - (PDF)
Infographic on PURPLE crying

Infographic

PSBSBC developed an infographic to support second-time parents and those whose first language isn’t available in the PURPLE materials. The development was done in consultation with maternity/public health nurses. Providers can use this infographic as a prompt to convey key messages.

  • Babies can cry a lot and increased infant crying in normal
  • Suggest soothing strategies 
  • Negative feelings around crying are ok and common
  • If the crying gets too frustrating, it is OK to put the baby in a safe place and take a break to calm down
  • That infant crying is not the fault of the caregiver or the baby, and the crying will come to an end
  • Where to get additional supports
  • Dangers of shaking
Download PDF
NOTE

If you want more detailed guidance on how to best approach PURPLE messages, check out other talking points guides.

3-min talking point document
10-min talking point document

Additional talking points

The PURPLE Crying App has sections on Sleeping, Infant Safety, and Self-care that parents can access. However, BC providers are encouraged to use Perinatal Services BC, HealthLinkBC, and First Nation Health Authority’s best practices recommendations and resources when discussing infant safer sleep and normal sleep biology with parents and caregivers.

Safer Sleep 

Although each case is unique, there are a number of common findings among infants who die suddenly and unexpectedly during sleep. These findings include health, social, and sleep environment factors that place an infant at increased risk of sudden unexpected infant death during sleep.

Sudden, unexpected infant death during sleep in BC disproportionately impacts individuals or families experiencing vulnerabilities. It is recommended that safe sleep messaging is introduced in a context that recognizes the impact of the social determinants of health on newborn babies.

PHSA Resources to Support Safer Sleep

Infant Sleep Discussion Guide
PDF
Safer Sleep Practice Resource for Health Care Providers, summary of updates
PDF
Honouring Our Babies Toolkit: Safer Sleep
External Link

Materials

PURPLE training and materials are available for free in BC to all health and service provider organizations who have completed PURPLE training. Please order a 1, 3 or 6 month supply of materials equivalent to the number of newborns/families your organizations supports. Place an order when there is approximately a one- month supply left in stock. Turnaround time is approximately 2 weeks.

Order Materials
Image showing the PURPLE materials which includes the mobile app, infographic, and booklet.

What does PURPLE materials include?

English Web and Mobile Application + Booklet Package
  • Booklet available in 3 languages: English, Punjabi, and Cantonese
  • Full colour booklet and Parent Reminder Card
  • English web and mobile app including:
  • 10-minute PURPLE Crying video
  • 17-minute Crying, Soothing, Coping: Doing What Comes Naturally video
  • E-booklet
  • Research and news feed
DVD + Booklet Package
  • Available in 11 languages: English, French (Quebecois), Punjabi, Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Spanish (Mexican), Portuguese (Brazilian), Somali, and Arabic
  • Full colour booklet and Parent Reminder Card
  • DVD including:
  • 10-minute PURPLE Crying video
  • 17-minute Crying, Soothing, Coping: Doing What Comes Naturally video

PURPLE resources provide information that is:

  • Relevant for all parents while emphasizing the dangers of infant abuse
  • Challenging, but coupled with a positive message
  • Written at a grade 3 language level
  • Representative of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds
All program implementation requirements are handled by PSBSBC. Individuals, hospitals and organizations in BC are not required to undertake purchasing, sign agreements or pay for materials. Any questions reach out to us.
Order Materials
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