Baby Days

In our area, incidence of teen pregnancy is still higher than in many other areas of the state. This major course project, Baby Think It Over, is designed to give students as realistic as possilbe an experience of what it might be like being a teen parent.

In Parenting and Child Development class, each student is required to take the infant simulator home (Baby Think It Over) for a weekend. They are to take care of the "infant" and while doing that, will record incidence of care, type of care, and responses of people in their families, and people who they may come into contact with during this time.

They will use a digital camera to document facets of care, such as where they have the "baby" sleeping, how they hold and feed the "infant", places they go during their weekend, fasening the car seat into their vehicles, the extended "family" for the infant. These photos will accompany written reflections of their feelings about being a "single, teen parent". The project grade is comprised of a score on their parenting ability with the simulator, and their record and reflections on their abilities to be a parent at this time in their lives.