FOR A GOOD CAUSE -- Karyn Quick

Andrew Glazer

Very few high schools offer parenting classes. It’s rare for a father to

sit down with his son and teach him how to be a dad. And being a mom is

not as instinctual as one might think, said at-home parenting instructor

Karyn Quick.

“Everyone has questions,” said Quick, 37, who 15 months ago became a

mother herself to perpetually smiling Serra, whose big, blue eyes match

her own.

“You can’t be judgmental. You have to be there for support.”

Quick is one of roughly 80 volunteers from the Exchange Club Child Abuse

Prevention Center based in Newport Beach.

Each week, she visits a new mother -- many still in their teens -- at her

home and answers questions about nursing, teething, changing, crying,

napping, dressing, bathing and burping babies. County health agencies

refer many of the new mothers to the program, while others ask for help

themselves.

During the at-home visits, volunteers also address child safety, such as

covering wall sockets and putting dangerous household objects out of a

baby’s reach. The Prevention Center assigns volunteers a new client every

three months.

“By that time, they pretty much have it all figured out,” Quick said,

passing a teetering Serra a singing plastic octopus. “But I also learn a

lot from them.”

Quick, who has studied to be a social worker at Orange Coast College on

and off for nearly 10 years, said her three years of volunteering has

provided her practical training. The most valuable experience, she said,

was learning to put her clients at ease.

“Sometimes cases are reluctant to let things out, such as past abuse,”

she said. “You have to build a lot of trust before you ask a lot of

questions.”

Asking the right questions -- such as how a parent who was abused as a

child can be better to their own child -- can save a baby’s life, Quick

said.

She said her clients -- many who don’t have anyone else to talk to --

often become very attached to her. Some find it hard to end the

three-month sessions.

“My last case said ‘You were great. I hope you’re available next time.’ ”

FYI

Those interested in volunteering should call the Exchange Club Child

Abuse Prevention Center at (949) 722-1107, Ext. 25. Prospective

volunteers must complete 14 hours of training and submit to fingerprint

and background checks.