Every year Burroughs students are given a sneak peak into parenting through the Career Technical Education Health Careers class. Each student is assigned an interactive, lifelike “Ready or Not Tot” to simulate the experience of caring for a baby — thankfully only for a few days’ length.
Nasco, the product manufacturer, says the dolls are designed to “take the glamour out of teen pregnancy and demonstrate the realities of the real world.”
“The dolls give students a glimpse into what parenting is like,” said Health Careers teacher Maryssa Flentye. “Each baby cries multiple times throughout the day and night, teaching students how demanding caring for an infant can be.”
Students are expected to care for their own doll for four days, with the majority of the days being over a weekend. All of the babies cry at random intervals and students are able to quiet the baby using a button on the back. Any neglect or abuse of the doll is recorded and viewable by the teacher.
“The hardest part of the experience was waking up in the middle of the night to help my baby while it was crying,” said junior Chloe Johnson.
Students must log what they were doing when their doll cried, as well as how it made them feel. Since the babies are set to cry randomly, students must be prepared to care for it in the middle of class or while they are trying to sleep at night.
During several events, it was necessary that students find a babysitter or be prepared to take the baby with them, just like they would if they had an actual baby.
“Although I was very exhausted, I think I did a good job at taking care of my baby while still going to school and hanging out with friends,” said junior Madison Kirkpatrick.
Overall, the project was a great success and gave students a sneak peek into the challenges of having a baby.
