They say you don’t truly know what it’s like to be a parent until you become one, and a class of high school students recently found this out for themselves. As part of a class project, the teens were tasked with taking care of high-tech dolls that simulate the eating, sleeping, and crying schedules of real babies. Let’s just say these teens probably have a new appreciation for their own parents after this project.
Many high schools offer a child development or parenting class for students.
In addition to learning about the physical and psychological development of children, the course allows students the opportunity to experience parenting with the help of simulation dolls.
One class is going viral after a tiring weekend spent caring for their dolls.
In a Facebook post, Chippewa Secondary School in North Bay, Ontario, Canada shared a photo of the babies back in their classroom after spending a few days home with students who were required to care for them.
“The babies are back! Looking forward to class discussions about the experiential learning that happened this weekend. Everyone is looking a tad tired this Monday morning,” the school said in their Facebook post.
Along with the photo, the school also shared text messages between the students and their teacher as they encountered their first taste of parenting.
The teacher provided her phone number to students to assist with any problems over the weekend, and students gladly took her up on her help.
For example, this student learned the hard way that babies can’t be carried in a backpack. Bundle that baby up!
Here’s one student wondering if it’s normal for babies to cry for 20 minutes.
LOL! Try… like two hours of non-stop crying.
At least it seems that these dolls did a pretty good job of simulating real babies.
This poor student just wanted some “quiet time”.
Parents everywhere can relate to this student. I hate to say this, but quiet time doesn’t really exist when you’re a parent.
At least some students were honest about their parenting “oopsies”.
Like this student who dropped their baby down the stairs. At least it didn’t die!
These teens got a lesson in real-life baby schedules.
A baby that sleeps all day and is up all night? Yup, that sounds about right.
I think it’s safe to say that these students truly felt what it takes to be a parent.
This student was at their wit’s end and asked their teacher to turn off their doll. The tiredness and frustration is something every parent has gone through when caring for their own children.
This project probably taught these students a valuable lesson.
It’s great to see that classes like this are still being offered, as it gives teens real insight into how much work parenting really is.
