Apple have this week hastily moved to withdraw a game for their iPhone product which involved “baby shaking”. According to the Guardian website, the game, which required users to try to soothe a crying baby by encouraging them to shake their iPhone, has been withdrawn after numerous complaints from parenting organisations.
The game has been poorly received (when played successfully the on screen baby would appear with large red crosses over its eyes, seemingly hinting at its death) with parents feeling it was distasteful and that it encouraged inappropriate behaviour in how to deal with children.
One of the complainers was Mr Patrick Donaghue, whose own child had three ribs broken, both collarbones and suffered a severe brain injury as a result of her nurse shaking her when she was only five days old. Mr Donaghue was so aghast with the product that he exclaimed “words cannot describe my reaction”.
Shaken baby syndrome (more commonly known as Abusive Head Trauma, or AHT) is a kind of whiplash injury which results from the violent shaking of a baby, leading to damage to the baby’s brain caused by rapid acceleration and deceleration. In the US it accounts for 1,200 deaths a year in children under the age of one.
It is likely that the application was produced out of ignorance rather than malice but it seems an incredible oversight by Apple, who has been exceptionally lax in allowing the game to reach the consumer market. This is even more surprising because Apple has developed a reputation as something of a strict censor in the industry. However, Apple should be credited for the swiftness with which it has moved to withdraw the product.