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Parkland Students Get Taste of Parenting With Computerized Dolls

The goal is to encourage young people to avoid unwanted pregnancies

Teacher Debra Topp looked out over her parenting class at and said, “Moms from this past weekend, raise your hands if you’re currently tired.”

Several hands shot up.

“Raise your hands if you plan to take a nap today,” she added.

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The same hands shot back up.

It’s tough work being a parent, Topp's students had come to learn. They had just spent four consecutive 24-hour periods with computerized, life-size baby dolls in as close a simulation as they could come to actually parenting an infant.

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The "Baby Think It Over" infant simulators are provided by Realityworks in Eau Claire, Wis., to help teens learn to appreciate the responsibilities of parenthood.

The ultimate goal is to encourage young people to avoid unwanted pregnancies.

Topp said the dolls are intended to help students “think about parenting as a possible lifetime goal. But you have to do it at the right time.

“Most of us become parents,” Topp said, “but having a baby during high school may not be the best way.”

The parenting class is part of the Family and Consumer Sciences Department at Parkland High School. The course is an elective for students in ninth through 12th grades.

When the latest group of students prepared to return their dolls to the teacher, it quickly became apparent that the project got their attention and made them think.

“I knew it would simulate a real baby,” said D’Aija Earl, a sophomore. “It’s like a life lesson. It shows teenagers how hard it is. A baby is not just cute. It’s a lot of work.”

Nighttimes were as difficult as daytimes. “At night it was hard,” Christina Kamel, a freshman, said, adding that it took a while to figure out what was wrong each time the doll cried.

Jamie Stettler, a senior, hopes to major in child development in college so that one day she can run her own day care center. Even then, she said, she was nervous when her baby doll cried. “It would scare me because I didn’t know what was wrong.”

An internal computer in the doll simulates an infant crying at random intervals -- intervals that can be adjusted by the teacher in advance. Each student wears an electronic bracelet on his or her wrist, and the bracelet is used to swipe a spot on the doll’s chest or back each time care is needed. Only the teacher will be able to remove the students’ wristbands.

The dolls actually coo when satisfied. Topp can get computer printouts from each doll that includes a list of “proper care” actions taken by the student, such as rocking, diapering, burping and feeding.

The printouts also list ways to “mishandle” the dolls, including shaking the baby doll, providing insufficient head support, positioning incorrectly and rough handling.

The computerized dolls cost $700 to $800 each, Topp said. “It’s like a very expensive laptop.”

Each semester Topp teaches two parenting classes consisting of 14 or 15 students. The school owns 10 of the dolls.

Topp sends an e-mail out to fellow teachers in the school when the baby dolls are about to be “born,” so they will be aware that students will be bringing the dolls into their classrooms as well.

Some teachers ask students to step out into the hallway when their dolls cry. Some of the students must make special arrangements related to after-school and weekend activities so that their care for the dolls is continuous. They are not permitted to turn over the doll’s care to other family members.

The students’ parents must sign off on the project. The students take their dolls home with them on a Friday and return them to the classroom on the following Tuesday -- no breaks from this new, relentless responsibility.

Students must also keep a journal of their experiences with the doll. Topp evaluates the computer printouts from the dolls, plus the students’ journals. Their work on the project accounts for one-third of their grade for the semester’s course.

This is Topp’s 11th year to teach the course at Parkland High School. A predecessor started the student project with the baby dolls in 1990, and most of the dolls were purchased during the 1990s.

Topp tries to help her students prepare for the project, including a pre-assignment questionnaire that concludes with two important questions:

“What one word would best describe your feelings if you were to become a parent in the next year?”

“What one word would best describe your parents’ feelings if you were to become a parent in the next year?”

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