No one really knows what it’s like to be a parent until you become one.
Sure, you hear the stories and know that it will involve a lot of dirty diapers and tired nights, but until you’ve stayed up until 4 a.m. rocking a baby to sleep, it’s hard to fully grasp what it feels like.
One teen recently found out what it’s like to be a parent as part of a class assignment and her experience will make moms everywhere go, “YUP.”
Most of us have an idea what parenthood will be like.
Long walks in the stroller, snuggles with your baby, bringing the little one on coffee dates…
LOL! Yeah, parenting is not like that at all.
I would actually describe parenting as feeling like you’re constantly hung over, but you don’t even have a fun party to blame it on.
Don’t get me wrong, being a parent is awesome, but there are some trade-offs. Like sleep. And remembering to shower every day.
Many high schools now give students real parenting experience as a part of the curriculum.
These classes allow teenagers to fully understand what it’s like to be a parent before they decide to become sexually active.
You might have even taken this class when you were in high school.
Some classes used eggs or a bag of sugar as your “baby” and it was your job to keep it safe and sound for a week or so.
Now schools have upgraded to these interactive dolls.
Like a real baby, these dolls need to be fed, changed, burped, and consoled. They are programmed to cry all hours of the day (yes, even at night), and record if the student responded to the baby’s needs.
One mom shared a photo of her teen daughter struggling to care for her baby recently.
Lawren Cole Galloway shared this photo on Facebook of her daughter, Olivia and her doll, William.
“It’s definitely been a learning experience. My favorite moment so far is when she came into my room last night around 3 am. She was crying real tears while feeding him his bottle. She was begging me to help her because she just wanted to get some sleep,” Lawren wrote on Facebook.
Lawren’s response?
“Yeah, no,” she said.
Haha! I’m sure moms everywhere will relate to that answer. Sorry, Olivia. Your mom did her share of late nights when you were just a wee babe.
Since sharing these photos on Facebook, Lawren’s post has gone viral.
It has been shared over 120,000 times and has over 85,000 comments.
Many of the people who have commented are praising this class for giving teens a sense of reality when it comes to parenting.
You can’t say this class doesn’t give students real-world experience.
Many of the other commenters said they remembered taking this class and that it really helped prepare them for parenthood when the time came.
Other people were hoping that teen boys also participated in the class.
As far as I know, the classes aren’t exclusive to girls, but this would definitely be an important class for all teens to take. I second this idea!
